>#?< 


UC-NRLF 


274    061 


THE  WAY  OF  LIFE 

UNTO  THE 
IE  INDWELLING 


THREE  ESSAYS: 
J,  P.  WIDNEY 


LIBRARY 

OF  THF, 

UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA. 

GIFT  OF 

1    P 


Accession 


86275     Q« 


i/VV 

V, 


A  / 

^7  txv^--       ./< 

i 


Entered  according  to  act  of  Congress,  February  5th,  1900, 
by  J.  P.  Widney,  in  the  office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress, 
Washington,  D.  C. 


After  the  title  page  had  been  printed  two  further  essays, 

THE  BAPTISM  WITH  THE  HOLY  GHOST  AND  WITH  FIRE, 
THE  ENDUEMENT  WITH  POWER, 
were  added  to  the  book. 


THE  WAY  OF  LIFE. 

HOLINESS  UNTO  THE  LORD 

THE  INDWELLING  SPIRIT. 


THREE     ESSAYS. 
J.     P.    WIDNEY. 


100  Bnacles,  Cal. 

COMMERCIAL  PRINTING  HOUSE 

1900 


A  i*' 


"Thy  word  is  a  lamp  unto  my  feet,  and  a  light  unto  my 
path."  Psalm  CXIX.  105. 

"All  scripture  is  given  by  inspiration  of  God,  and  is  profitable 
for  doctrine,  for  reproof,  for  correction,  for  instruction  in 
righteousness;  that  the  man  of  God  may  be  perfect,  throughly 
furnished  unto  all  good  works."  II.  Timothy  III.  16,  17. 


86275 


To  THE  READER: 

For  four  years,  putting  aside  all 

authorities  of  man,  I  have  taken  the  Scriptures  with 
only  one  thought  before  me — "What  has  God  said  ?  " 
In  my  daily  study,  and  in  public  ministration,  this  has 
been  the  one  authority  recognized.  The  prompting 
to  this  course  was  born  of  a  hunger  in  my  own  soul. 
These  e'ssays  represent  somewhat  of  the  results  as 
they  have  come  to  me. 

J.  P.  WIDNEY. 


THE  WAY  OF   LIFE. 

'Sirs,  what  must  I  do  to  be  saved?" 
Acts  XVI.  30. 


I. 

FROM  LIFE  INTO  DEATH. 


The  Bible  is  a  soul  history— a  soul  prophecy— a  soul  chart. 

It  tells  where  man  originally  stood  with  God. 

It  contains  the  history  of  man's  fall  from  that  position, 
through  transgression  of  God's  law,  into  a  state  of  sin-. 

It  tells  of  the  consequences  to  man  of  this  fall. 

It  gives  a  hope  and  a  prophecy  of  the  possibility  of  man's 
restoration  again. 

It  contains,  also,  a  chart  of  a  way  opened  up  for  man  back, 
out  of  his  sin,  to  God. 

By  a  study  of  the  falling  away  from  God,  man  gains  the 
wisdom  which  comes  of  experience. 

By  a  study  of  the  chart,  he  receives  guidance  for  his  return 

The  wisdom  gained  by  the  fall  would  be  of  no  avail  with- 
out the  chart  for  the  return. 

The  chart,  without  the  bitter  wisdom  gained,  the  experience, 
might  never  be  made  use  of. 

It    takes   both    to    make  good   an   answer  to  the  question, 

''Sirs, what  must  I  do  to  be  saved?" 

No  clear  answer  to  this  question  can  be  given  without  first 
considering  what  man  is  to  be  saved  from ;  and  how  he  came 
to  be  lost.  This  takes  us  back  at  once  to  the  very  beginning, 
to  find  where,  and  how,  man  first  starts  into  life.  What  does 
the  Bible  record  show  upon  these  points?  The  record  shows: 

1 — That  man  is  born  of  God, — 

"And  God  said,  Let  us  make 

man  in  our  image,  after  our  likeness"  .  .  .  "So  God  created 
man  in  his  own  image,  in  the  image  of  God  created  he  him: 
male  and  female  created  he  them."  Genesis  I.-26,  27. 


10  THE    WAY    OF    LIFE. 

How  in  the  Image  of  God  ?— in  body  ?  This  cannot  be;  for, 
"God  is  a  spirit."  John  IV.-24.  In  mind  ?  This  cannot  be;  for, 
"Even  so  the  things  of  God  knoweth  no  man,  but  the  Spirit  of 
God."  I.  Corinth.  II.-ll.  In  spiritual  nature?  Yes,  surely; 
for  there  is  nothing  else  left.  And  the  record  is  explicit  upon 
this  point: — 

"And   [he]   breathed  into  his  nostrils  the  breath  of 
life,  and  man  became  a  living"  sou/."     Genesis  II.-7. 

It  is  the  description  of  one  made  in  the  spiritual  likeness  of 
God,  pure  in  desire,  free  from  sin,  his  will  in  harmony  with  the 
divine  will.  This  is  the  first  birth. 

2— The  record  further  shows: 

That  to  this  new  born  man 

a  law  of  soul  life  was  laid  down,  viz:  obedience  to  God;  and 
a  penalty  fixed  for  disobedience: — 

"But  of  the  tree  of  the  knowledge 

of  good  and  evil,  thou  shalt  not  eat  of  it:  for  in  the  day  that 
thou  eatest  thereof  thou  shalt  surely  die."  Genesis  II.-17. 

The  wording  shows  by  implication  that  man  is  made  with 
freedom  of  will  to  choose  for  himself,  whether  to  obey,  or 
disobey.  This  was  the  first  probation. 

That  spiritual  death  was  meant  by  this,  is  shown  in 
paragraph  5. 

3— The  record  further  shows: 

That  a  testing  came  to  man  under  this  law: — 

"And  the  serpent 

said  unto  the  woman,  Ye  shall  not  surely  die:  for  God  doth 
know  that  in  the  day  ye  eat  thereof  then  your  eyes  shall  be 
opened,  and  ye  shall  be  as  gods,  knowing  good  and  evil." 
Genesis  III.-4,  5. 

4 — The  record  further  shows: 

That  man    disbelieved    God, 
and  broke  the  law  of  soul  life:— 

"And  when  the  woman  saw  that 

the  tree  was  good  for  food,  and  that  it  was  pleasant  to  the 
eyes,  and  a  tree  to  be  desired  to  make  one  wise,  she  took  of  the 
fruit  thereof,  and  did  eat,  and  gave  also  tmto  her  husband  with 
her;  and  he  did  eat."  Genesis  III.-6, 


FROM    LIFE    INTO    DEATH.  11 

5— The  record  finally  shows: 

That  the  law  of  life  was  true: 

and  man  incurred  the  penalty  of  its  infraction,  arid  died  to  God 
spiritually.  That  this  is  the  death  meant,  is  shown  by  the  fact 
that  man  did  not  that  day  die  bodily,  but  lived,  and  went  out 
to  beget  children;  and  that  mental  death  is  not  meant,  is  man- 
ifest, for  man,  instead  of  dying  mentally,  lived  and  grew  in 
mental  powers: — 

"And  the  Lord  God  said,  Behold  the  man  is 
become  as  one  of  us  to  know  good  and  evil."    Genesis  III.-22. 

There  is  only  left,  then,  to  make  good  the  penalty,  spiritual 
death,  that  is,  alienation  from  God:  and  that  this  is  meant,  is 
shown  by  Genesis  IIT.-24:— 

"So  he  drove  out  the  man:   and  he 

placed  at  the  east  of  the  garden  of  Eden  cherubims  and  a  flaming 
sword  which  turned  every  way,  to  keep  the  way  of  the  tree  of 
life."  This  is  the  first  death. 

The  figures  used  in  Genesis  of  the  Garden  of  Eden,  and  the 
tree  with  its  fruitage,  are  probably  only  allegory.  The 
Scriptures  are  full  of  such  allegories.  Christ  makes  use  of  them 
continually  as  parables.  But  back  of  the  allegory,  back  of  the 
parable,  is  always  the  spiritual  lesson,  which  is  not  allegory  or 
parable. 

The  important  thing  in  that  old  Biblical  tale  is,  that  therein 
is  told  the  soul  history 'of  man  in  his  first  estate:  that  the 
human  soul  in  the  first  birth  is  born  in  the  spiritual  likeness  of 
God,  and  at  one  with  him:  that  by  its  own  will  it  violates  the 
conditions  of  its  spiritual  life,  and  dies  to  God  by  the  consequent 
going  out  from  his  presence  —  and  this  is  sin,  for  "Sin  is  the 
transgression  of  the  Law,"  (I.  John  III. -4)  not  simply  of  the 
Sinaitic  law,  but  of  God's  law. 

Is  soul  death  annihilation? 

Analogy   would  seem  to  prove 

that  it  cannot  be,  for  in  all  scientific  research  in  other  directions, 
annihilation,  blotting  out  of  existence,  whether  of  matter  or 
force,  has  never  been  found.  Apparent  annihilation  has  always 
been  ultimately  found  to  be  only  change  of  form.  That  by  soul 
death  is  not  meant  annihilation  in  this  case,  is  definitely  proven 
by  the  fact  that  God,  as  shown  in  the  subsequent  Biblical 
record,  does  not  plan  to  create  a  new  soul  for  the  man  thus 


12  THE    WAY    OF    LIFE. 

spiritually  dead  to  his  Maker,  but  does  plan  to  win  back,  to 
redeem,  to  regenerate,  the  lost  soul. 

Why  did  God  thus  place  man  where  he  would  be  subject  to 
temptation,  and  the  possibility  of  spiritual  death? 

To  look  upon 

the  testing  and  the  fall,  as  chance,  or  as  a  failure  in  God's 
plans,  is  to  question  the  omniscience,  or  else  the  wisdom  of 
God.  There  must  have  been  a  plan  and  a  purpose  back  of  it. 
The  answer  to  this  question  is  possible  only  when  the  full  record 
of  God's  ways  with  man,  as  contained  in  the  Scriptures,  has 
been  considered.  It  will  be  taken  up  before  the  close  of  this 
writing.  (See  note  on  page  29.) 

Did  man  gain  anything  by  the  fall? 

Yes— knowledge: — 

"For 

God  doth  know  that  in  the  day  ye  eat  thereof,  then  your  eyes 
shall  be  opened,  and  ye  shall  be  as  gods,  knowing  good  and 
evil."  Genesis  III.-5. 

"And  the  Lord  God  said,  Behold,  the  man  is  become  as  one 
of  us,  to  know  good  and  evil:"  Genesis  III.-22. 

These  facts  appear  in  the  record  thus  far: 

1 — Man  with  an  intellect  ignorant  of  sin  and  its  baneful 
consequences. 

2 — A  law  of  soul  life  and  a  penalty  for  its  infraction. 

3— A  heart  desire  contrary  to  the  law. 

4 — A  will  to  gratify  the  desire  contrary  to  the  law,  i.  e.,  a 
will  arrayed  in  opposition  to  the  will  of  God. 

5— The  gratification  of  the  desire,  thus  making  actual  trans- 
gression. 

Result— 

The  man  that  was  the  son  of  God,  made  in  his  spiritual 
likeness,  has  by  his  own  free  will  act  transgressed  the  law  of 
his  soul  life,  and  is  become  spiritually  dead  to  God. 

Does  man  thereupon  realize  that  a  change  has  come  in  his 
relationship  to  God?  Yes, 

"And  the  eyes  of  them  both  were  opened, 
and  they  knew  that  they  were  naked."    Genesis  III.-7. 


FROM    LIFE    INTO    DEATH.  13 

How  naked? 

Again  the  allegory  manifestly.  A  soul 
awakened  to  sin  and  to  the  knowledge  of  the  fact  that  it 
stands  naked  in  its  sin  before  the  eye  of  God. 

And  now,  as  the  voice  of  God  calls  to  the  soul  in  its  newly 
gained  knowledge  of  evil,  how  does  the  soul  respond? 

"I  heard 
thy  voice  in  the  garden,  and  I  was  afraid."    Genesis  III.-10. 

Why  afraid? 

"Because  I  was  naked."    Genesis  III.-10. 

A  soul  with  its  innocency  gone,  and  the  stain  of  transgression 
upon  it. 

Afraid  of  what? 

Afraid  of  God,   the  Father;   where  before 
was  only  love  and  trust,  and  no  fear. 

And  now  comes  the  searching  question,  "Who  told  thee  that 
thou  wast  naked?"  Genesis  III.-ll. 

Conscience — conscience  aroused  and  quivering  under  the  shock 
of  sin,  and  which  is  ever  as  the  flaming  sword  of  the  angel 
between  man  and  the  paradise  of  his  lost  innocency. 


Was  it  just  to  thus  place  man  where  he  could  be  tempted 
and  fall? 

Justice  is  justice,  whether  in  God  or  man:  its  principles  apply 
alike  to  all— to  God  upon  his  throne— to  man  before  the  throne. 
Anything  less  than  this  would  be  unworthy  of  divine  power. 

To  hold  God  as  ignorant  of  what  is  to  be  the  consequences 
of  his  acts,  is  to  deny  one  of  the  essential  attributes  of  the  God- 
head, omnisicence.  Unless  we  are  to  radically  change  and  lower 
our  estimate  of  God's  nature,  we  must  believe  that  he  not  only 
foreknew  the  fall  of  man  under  temptation,  but  also  that  he 
purposely  puts  man  where  the  testing  and  the  fall  come  to  him. 
Shall  we  sav,  then,  that  God  is  unjust  to  this  man  whom  he 
has  made,  in  thus  placing  him  subject  to  temptation? 

In  view  of  the  suffering  which  sin  brings,  we  must  be  forced 
to  answer,  Yes,  unless  that  out  of  this  testing,  this  fall,  is  to 
come  the  possibility  of  a  greater  good  for  man;  that  it  is  only 
the  working  out  of  a  broader,  far-reaching  plan:  and  thus  God 
be  justified  in  his  ways  with  men. 


14  THE    WAY    OF    LIFE. 

What  are  the  facts  in  the  case? 

There  is  in  God's  universe 

a  far-spread  battle'going  on  between  good  and  evil.  It  began 
before  the  days  of  man:  it  involves  other  beings  than 
man.  Man  is  only  one  of  the  parties  to  a  conflict  broader  than 
his  own  life,  reaching  out  beyond  the  narrow  limits  of  his  little 
world. 

Possibly  the  veil  of  the  flesh  is  all  that  keeps  him  from  seeing. 
If  the  prayer  of  Elisha  in  the  gray  morning  of  that  day  at 
Dothan,  "Lord,  open  the"eyes  of  the  young  man,  that  he  may 
see,"  were  answered  for  man,  not  simply  the  mountain-side  but 
the  depths  of  the  universe  would  reveal  the  arrayed  hosts. 
What  suggestions  of  unspeakable  conflict  lie  in  the  words,  "The 
man  is  become  as  one  of  us  to  know  good  and  evil."  Genesis 
III.-22. 

Glimpses  of  this  broader  conflict  are  given  in  the  Scriptures:— 

"And  the  angels  which  kept  not  their  first  estate,  but  left 
their  own  habitation,  he  hath  reserved  in  everlasting  chains, 
under  darkness,  unto  the  judgment  of  the  great  day."  Jude  6. 

"For  if  God  spared  not  the  angels  that  sinned,  but  cast 
them  down  to  hell,  and  delivered  them  into  chains  of  darkness, 
to  be  reserved  unto  judgment:"  II.  Peter  II.-4. 

"And  there  was  war  in  heayen:  Michael  and  his  angels 
fought  against  the  dragon:  and  the  dragon  fought,  and  his 
angels."  Rev.  XII.-7. 

The  very  temptation  which  comes  to  man  in  the  infancy  of 
the  race  is  a  picture,  not  of  a  new-born  impulse  in  a  child 
heart,  but  of  the  assault  oi  a  trained,  skilled  power  of  evil, 
which  has  already  learned  how  to  make  evil  seem  good.  It 
shows  the  cunning  of  an  experienced  master  in  the  art  of 
spiritual  warfare. 

Why  this  broad-spread  warfare  between  good  and  evil?  We 
must  believe,  as  we  believe  in  the  wisdom  and  power  of  God, 
that  it  is  not  chance;  but  that  back  of  it  lies  a  plan,  fixed, 
predestined,  far-reaching:  and,  as  we  believe  in  God's  goodness, 
that  out  of  it  is  to  come  ultimate  good.  In  this  battle  man  is 
to  take  his  part.  Why?  Because  out  of  battling  comes  strength, 
out  of  testing,  temptation  resisted,  comes  power  to  stand.  Out 
of  the  struggle  of  youth  is  developed  a  stronger,  nobler  manhood 
than  if  the  struggle  had  not  been. 

Test  this  by  the  worldly  life 


FROM    LIFE    INTO    DEATH.  15 

of  man.  It  is  not  a  wise  parent  who  keeps  back  his  child  from 
the  battle  of  life.  A  little  kindly  counsel,  a  warning  of  the 
danger,  a  caution,  "My  son,  beware  of  evil,"  and  he  sends  him 
forth  to  the  battle,  and  the  danger,  knowing  that  not  to  send 
is  to  keep  him  always  a  child:  that  to  send,  means  the  possibility 
of  a  strong,  sturdy  manhood.  Not  to  send  him  out  is  to  do  a 
wrong  to  the  child.  It  is  to  withhold  from  him  the  possibilities 
of  growth. 

There  is  a  strangely  curious  parallel  (Is  it  more?  Is  it 
prophecy?)  between  the  Biblical  account  of  the  fall  of  man,  and 
the  life  of  the  individual  man.  The  account  of  the  fall  might 
almost  seem  to  be  only  an  allegory  of  each  human  life  in  its 
individual  aspect,  then,  now,  in  the  days  to  come.  And,  indeed, 
the  name  Adam  is  only  the  Hebrew  word  man.  Man  is  born 
a  child,  in  the  purity  of  the  Eden  of  infancy.  Should  he  die  in 
infancy,  there  is  no  score  of  transgression  against  him,  no  con- 
demnation of  inherited  evil:  for  Christ  said,  as  he  gathered  the 
little  ones  up  in  his  arms:  "Suffer  the  little  children  to  come 
unto  me,  and  forbid  them  not,  for  of  such  is  the  kingdom  of 
God."  Mark  X.-14. 

And   again: 

"Except  ye  be  converted  (  <TTpa<j>f]T€.  —  turn) 
and  become  as  little  children,  ye  shall  not  enter  into  the  kingdom 
of  heaven."  Matth.  XVIII.-3. 

And  he  adds: 

"Take  heed  that  ye  despise  not  one  of  these 
little  ones:  for  I  say  unto  you,  That  in  heaven  their  angels  do 
always  behold  the  face  of  my  Father  which  is  in  heaven.  For 
the  Son  of  man  came  to  save  that  which  was  lost."  Matth. 
XVIII.-10,  11. 

But,  it  is  only  a  child. 

Then,    as    the   years   go    by,  in  the 

child  Eden  hang  the  branches  of  the  tree  of  knowledge  of  good 
and  evil,  laden  with  their  fruitage;  and  to  the  curious,  restless 
heart  of  youth,  as  in  that  old  tale,  comes  the  voice  of  the 
tempter,  saying,  "Ye  shall  not  surely  die.  Eat  and  be  wise." 
And  the  sinless  child  eats,  and  is  sinless  no  more.  It  has  known 
evil;  and  the  sinning  heart  dies  to  God. 

Out  of  the  testing,  the  battling,  man  must  come  with  ulti- 
mate gain,  that  God's  ways  with  man  may  be  justified.  Justice 
demands  it. 


II. 

THE    PROMISE   OF   A    NEW    LIFE. 


The  gateway  into  life  is  birth.  There  is  no  other.  Man 
thus  first  entered  into  spiritual  life.  To  this  life  he  died  through 
sin.  Is  a  second  birth  possible  to  this  man  that  has  died? — a 
soul  birth  from  death  into  life.  The  Biblical  record  is  God's 
written  answer  to  this  question.  The  record  shows  that  God 
does  not  abandon  the  son  he  had  begotten,  even  though  that 
son,  by  his  own  act,  has  died  to  the  father.  At  once  begins  the 
working  out  of  a  plan  to  make  this  newly  gained  knowledge  of 
good  and  evil,  the  knowledge  which  has  cost,  as  its  purchase 
price,  spiritual  death,  the  means  of  undoing  its  own  harm,  and 
of  helping  to  work  out  a  new  life  for  man.  The  plan  does  not 
unfold  itself  at  once.  Only  a  hope  is  at  first  thrown  out,  that 
man  may  not,  as  Cain,  despair  utterly.  To  the  first  man,  in 
the  very  day  of  his  fall,  comes  the  first  promise.  Man  is  not  to 
remain  a  contented  bondsman  to  evil.  Neither  shall  evil  lord 
it  over  the  man  who  has  thus  fallen  under  its  bondage.  It  is 
to  be  despised  by  the  very  man  who  has  become  its  slave;  for 
the  dream  of  the  nobler  birth  does  not  die  out  of  the  soul  that 
once  was  born  of  God.  Even  in  its  degradation  it  does  not 
forget  the  nobility  of  its  first  estate.  It  has  sold  its  birthright 
of  innocency,  but  does  not  forget  that  it  once  had  it. 

And  even  in  the  depths  of  its  degradation  the  stir  of  a  new  life, 
of  battling  with  sin,  begins.  God's  spirit  is  striving  with  man, 
and  will  not  let  him  rest,  even  though  by  his  own  act  he  has 
departed  from  his  Maker.  And  the  man,  even  in  his  death  ot 
sin,  is  still  nobler  than  his  master  in  evil,  for  he  stands  erect, 
while  upon  the  power  of  evil  the  sentence  is  placed  :— 

"Upon  thy 


THE    PROMISE    OF    A    NEW    LIFE.  17 

belly  shall  thou  go,  and  dust  shalt  thou  eat  all  the  days  of  thy 
life."    Genesis  III.-14. 

It  is  a  picture  of  the  eternal  degradation  of  evil,  not  even 
lifted  up  by  its  victory  over  man. 

Man  is  not  to  be  a  passive  captive  in  the  hands  of  evil.  The 
bondage  will  be  resented:— "I  will  put  enmity  between  thee  and 
the  woman,  and  between  thy  seed  and  her  seed:  it  shall  bruise 
thy  head" — yet,  yet,  as  God  looks  forward  through  the  ages  of 
human  misery  born  of  evil— "thou  shalt  bruise  his  heel."  Genesis 
III.-15. 

The  new  knowledge  of  good  and  evil,  and  the  freedom  of 
will,  which  is  not  lost  even  in  the  bondage  of  evil,  are  at  once 
appealed  to,  to  help  in  the  working  out  of  a  new  spiritual  life 
for  man.  The  work  is  not  to  be  all  of  God.  With  man's  freedom 
of  will  it  could  not  be.  Man  must  use  the  knowledge  of  good 
and  evil,  and  the  freedom  of  will,  which  he  still  has,  to  help  in 
the  work.  He  must  do  his  part.  He  must  will  to  turn  back  to 
God,  and  then  intelligently  do  to  that  end.  There  are  conditions 
requisite  to  soul  restoration  as  there  were  to  soul  life;  but  now 
the  conditions  are  no  longer  all  under  God's  control:— 

"And  the  Lord  said  unto  Cain,  Why  art  thou  wroth?  And 
why  is  thy  countenance  fallen?  If  thou  doest  well,  shalt  thou 
not  be  accepted?  And  if  thou  doest  not  well,  sin  lieth  at  the 
door."  Genesis  IV.-6,  7. 

Man  is  to  help  work  out  his  own  salvation.  If  thou  doest 
(freedom  of  will)  well  (using  the  newly  gained  knowledge  of 
good  and  evil),  shalt  thou  not  be  accepted?  And  if  thou  doest 
not  well,  (still  the  freedom  of  will  to  choose)  sin  lieth  at  the 
door.  Whose  door?  Thy  door>  not  God's;  for  your  knowledge 
and  your  freedom  of  will  make  you  the  chooser.  No  other  basis 
of  restoration  is  possible,  for  when  God  made  man  with  freedom 
of  will  he  voluntarily  parted  with  all  power  even  to  save  man, 
unless  man  wills  to  co-operate.  Restoration  can  now  only  come 
through : 

Man  co-operating  with  God; 

God  co-operating  with  man. 

Paul  saw  this  great  basic  truth  clearly:— 

"Wherefore,  my  beloved,  as  ye  have  always  obeyed,  not  as 
in  my  presence  only,  but  now  much  more  in  my  absence,  work 
out  your  own  salvation  in  fear  and  trembling;  for  it  is  God 


18  THE    WAY    OF    LIFE. 

which  worketh  in  you  both  to  will  and  to  do  of  his  good  pleas- 
ure."   Philippians  II. -12,  13. 

God's  promise  to  Cain  was  clear  and  explicit.  The  general 
conditions  of  salvation  were  laid  down  plainly: 

Man  must  desire  to  be  saved. 

He  must  will  to  be  saved. 

He  must  work  to  be  saved. 

And  when  he  has  done  these — "shalt  thou  not  be  accepted?" 
God's  manner  of  redeeming  the  promise  was  not  as  yet  revealed. 

God  does  not  let  man  forget  that  still  he  is  keeping  his  hand 
upon  him.  He  is  ever  reminded  that  the  Father  has  not  given 
him  up,  but  is  watching  over  him  in  all  his  ways.  God  has  not 
disowned  him.  To  Noah  the  reminder  comes  as  a  command, 
and  then  a  covenant.  The  command  is,  To  enter  into  the  Ark: 
the  covenant — 

"and  I  will  establish  my  covenant  with  you; 
neither  shall  all  flesh  be  cut  off  any  more  by  the  waters  of  a 
flood:  neither  shall  there  any  more  be  a  flood  to  destroy  the 
earth. 

And  the  bow  shall  be  in  the  cloud:  and  I  will  look  upon  it 
that  I  may  remember  the  everlasting  covenant  between  God 
"and  every  living  creature  of  all  flesh  that  is  upon  the  earth." 
Genesis  IX.-ll  and  16. 

It  was  the  evidence  of  God's  continued  interest  and  care. 

To  Abram  comes  the  promise  of  a  dawning  hope  to  man, 
and  a  vague  hinting  of  the  manner  of  it: — 

"In  thee  shall  all  families  of  the  earth  be  blessed."  Genesis 
XII.-3. 

And  again  the  promise  is  gi-ven  to  him:— 

"and  in  thy  seed 
shall    all    the   nations    of  the   earth  be  blessed;" 

and  it  is  because 
of  obedience  :— 

"because  thou  hast  obeyed   my   voice."      Genesis 
XXII.-18. 

For  the  hope  is  to  have  a  fulfillment  on  in  the  years  that 
are  to  be,  and  men  must  not  forget,  lest  they  some  day  despair. 

And  the  faith  of  Abraham  meets  a  reward,  for  it  is 
written : — 

"and  he  believed  in    the    Lord,  and  he  counted  it  to 
him  for  righteousness."    Genesis  XV.-6. 


THE    PROMISE    OF    A    NEW    LIFE.  19 

And  God  further  gives  seal  to  the  covenant  that  it  may  stand 
with  the  recognized  authority  of  a  legal  compact.  To  Abraham 
(Abram)  he  says:— 

"and  I  will  establish  my  covenant  between 

me  and  thee,  and  thy  seed  after  thee  in  their  generations  for  an 
everlasting  covenant,  to  be  a  God  unto  thee,  and  to  thy  seed 
after  thee. 

This  is  my  covenant  which  ye  shall  keep,  between 
me  and  you,  and  thy  seed  after  thee.      Every  man  child  among 

you  shall  be  circumcised and  it  shall  be  a  token  of  the 

covenant  betwixt  me  and  you."    Genesis  XVII.-7  and  10,  11. 


And  now  another  step  is  taken  in  the  carrying  out  of  God's 
plan.  The  races  of  men  are  to  be  widely  scattered  over  the 
earth,  and  the  remembrance  of  this  hope  may  die  out  among 
them,  and  especially  as  but  few  of  them  have  directly  heard 
the  promise. 

To  the  end  that  this  remembrance  may  not  die  out,  the 
knowledge  that  God  has  a  plan  for  man's  restoration,  God 
chooses  a  people  whose  especial  mission  shall  be  to  act  as  custo- 
dians of  the  words  of  the  promise  until  the  fullness  of  time 
shall  come.  It  is  to  this  end  that  the  command  is  given  to 
Abram, 

"Get  thee  out  of  thy  country,  and  from  thy  kindred, 
and  from  thy  father's  house,  unto  a  land  that  I  will  show  thee : 
and  I  will  make  of  thee  a  great  nation,  and  I  will  bless  thee  and 
make  thy  name  great:  and  thou  shalt  be  a  blessing:  and  I  will 
bless  them  that  bless  thee;  and  curse  them  that  curse  thee,"  and 
then  follows  the  promise,  the  reason  for  it  all,  "and  in  thee  shall 
all  families  ( Hebrew: '"M/sApacAaA— family,  tribe,  people)  of  the 
earth  be  blessed."  Genesis  XII.-l,  2,  3. 

Why  all  this  care?  Could  not  God  have  given  at  once  to 
man  restoration  to  spiritual  life  without  all  this  preparation, 
as  of  a  general  for  a  campaign? 

No.  Man's  will  stands  in  the  way ;  and  the  human  heart 
has  not  yet  learned  the  full  lesson  of  evil.  It  is  to  be  a 
campaign  running  through  the  centuries.  In  Abram  God  begins 
to  build  a  race.  It  is  only  the  means  to  an  end.  The  end  in 
view  is,  the  building  of  man. 

Men  say,  The  man  dies:  the  race  lives.       This  is  true  in  the 


20  THE    WAY    OF    LIFE. 

history  of  time.  God,  in  the  broader  view  of  the  history  of 
eternity  says,  Races  die:  man  lives. 

The  promise  is  repeated  to  Isaac  (Genesis  XXVI.-4),  and 
again  to  Jacob  in  almost  the  identical  words  :— 

"and    thy    seed 

shall  be  as  the  dnst  of  the  earth :  and  thou  shalt  spread  abroad 
to  the  west,  and  to  the  east,  and  to  the  north,  and  to  the  south: 
and  in  thee  and  in  thy  seed,  shall  all  the  families  (mishpachah) 
of  the  earth  be  blessed."  Genesis  XXVIII.-14. 

Then  came  God's  dealings  with  the  chosen  people;  their 
increase  in  numbers;  their  sojourn  in  a  strange  land  to  isolate 
them,  to  make  of  them  a  separate  people;  their  slavery  and 
miraculous  deliverance,  to  teach  them  God's  power,  as  with 
"outstretched  arm,  and  a  mighty  hand,"  he  delivered  them;  the 
long  journeying  in  the  wilderness,  to  teach  them  daily  depend- 
ence upon  him;  the  battling  for  the  Promised  Land,  to  train 
them  and  weld  them  together  as  an  army,  that  their  race  safety 
amid  the  struggles  of  the  nations  might  be  insured. 


III. 

THE    LAW    AND   THE   SACRIFICE. 


Two  separate  and  distinct  things  were  given  to  the  chosen 
people: 

The  Law — man's  duty  to  God  and  his  fellow  man. 

The  sacrificial  offering— life  given  as  the  price  of  pardon  for 
transgression. 

About  these  two,  as  about  the  two  foci  of  an  ellipse,  the 
whole  Jewish  race  life  revolved ;  these,  and  the  thoughts  which 
lay  back  of  them — a  God  of  justice — man  a  sinner — pardon  for  sin 
to  come  somehow  through  the  sacrifice  of  life  offered  up  upon 
the  altar. 

God— sin— remission— the  three  words  sum  up  the  essence  of 
the  old  covenant. 

The  Hebrews,  the  people  chosen  of  God  for  the  keeping  of 
the  record  of  that  old  covenant  of  God  for  man,  were  a  rude, 
hard  race.  The  law  became  their  schoolmaster.  Under  it  they 
learned  to  do  right ;  at  first  through  fear  of  punishment ;  then 
as  a  dut3r,  because  it  is  right.  After  a  while  to  the  hard  heart 
of  the  race,  thus  trained  to  the  thought  of  duty,  came  a  higher 
thought,  to  do  right  through  love.  It  is  man  evoluting  from 
fear  to  duty,  from  duty  to  love. 

It  is  man  growing  back  toward  God.  Yet  between  man  and 
the  God  toward  whom  his  heart  is  again  turning  lies  ever  as 
a  bar  across  the  pathway  the  record  of  transgression.  "My 
sin!  my  sin!  How  shall  my  sin  be  blotted  out?" 

It  is  the  unceasing  cry  of  the  old  covenant  man,  ever  going 
up.  How  for  this  heart  that  is  again  turning  to  God,  shall  the 
dark  score  of  transgression  be  cancelled  ? 

To  this  end  the  sacrifice  for  sin  was  instituted— life  paid  to 
ransom  from  death. 


22  THE    WAY    OF    LIFE. 

There  is  little  at  first  in  that  old  Law,  and  the  sacrificial 
service,  to  point  beyond  the  mere  blood  offering  of  the  animal 
sacrifice  as  an  atonement  for  sin.  Man  had  not  yet  apparently 
grown  spiritually  to  a  conception  of  the  logical  insufficiency  of 
this,  or  the  need  of  more.  The  true  enormity  of  sin  as  an 
offence  against  his  own  soul  had  not  yet  apparently  fully 
dawned  upon  him ;  neither  a  true  conception  of  the  real  condi- 
tion of  the  human  heart.  He  was  still  apparently  upon  the 
low  plane  of  the  thought  of  sin  as  simply  an  offense  against 
the  law,  having  a  market  price  of  compensation  through 
penance,  or  offering.  Yet  a  truer  conception  of  the  nature  of  sin 
was  slowly  dawning  upon  men;  and  with  it  came  a  realization 
of  the  insufficiency  of  the  offering  of  the  life  of  an  animal  as  an 
atonement.  In  the  agony  of  his  soul  David  cries  out  to  God: 

"For  thou  desirest  not  sacrifice,  else  would  I  give  it:  thou 
delightest  not  in  burnt  offering.  The  sacrifices  of  God  are  a 
broken  spirit:  a  broken  and  a  contrite  heart,  O  God,  thou  wilt 
not  despise."  Psalm  LI.-16,  17. 

And  the  cry,  as  he  looks  past  the  overt  act  of  transgression 
to  the  heart,  swayed  by  evil  desires,  which  lies  back  of  it,  and 
realizes  that  pardon  for  the  transgression  is  not,  alone,  sufficient, 

"Create  in  me  a  clean  heart,  O  God,  and  renew  a  right  spirit 
within  me."  Psalm  LI.-10. 

In  the  Psalms  we  have  a  picture  of  the  new  heart  that  is 
growing  up  in  man,  a  heart  that  is  longing  for  something 
more  than  the  mere  wiping  out  of  the  score  of  transgression,  a 
heart  that  is  hungering  to  get  back  into  communion  with  God. 
It  is  man  beginning  to  long  for  the  lost  son-ship  again:  a 
heart  that  begins  to  speak  of  "cleansing,"  of  "purity,"  of 
"peace  in  God,"  of  "dwelling  in  the  secret  places  of  the  Most 
High,"  a  heart  that  is  learning  that  God  is  something  more 
than  a  stern  Judge,  that,  "Like  as  a  father  pitieth  his  children, 
so  the  Lord  pitieth  them  that  fear  him,"  (Psalm  CIII.-13);  and 
that,  in  the  joy  of  the  newer  hope,  begins  to  cry  out,  "Bless  the 
Lord,  O  my  soul!" 

The  Psalms  come  midway  in  the  time  of  the  old  covenant 
record,  as  it  were  to  show  what  progress  man  is  making  back 
toward  God. 

And  now  God  reaches  out  to  meet  man,  to  strengthen  him 
in  his  purpose.  Man  must  not  mistake  God's  feeling  toward 


THE    LAW    AND    THE    SACRIFICE.  23 

him.  He  must  know  that  God  is  more  than  willing  man  should 
turn  back  from  his  transgressions  and  seek  life:— 

"Say  unto  them, 

As  I  live  saith  the  Lord  God,  I  have  no  pleasure  in  the  death  of 
the  wicked :  but  that  the  wicked  turn  from  his  way  and  live : 
turn  ye,  turn  ye  from  your  evil  ways;  for  why  will  ye  die,  O 
house  of  Israel!"  Ezekiel  XXXIII.-ll. 

He  turns  to  reason  with  man  about  it:— 

"Come  now,  and 

let  us  reason  together,  saith  the  Lord :  though  your  sins  be  as 
scarlet,  they  shall  be  as  white  as  snow :  though  they  be  red  like 
crimson,  they  shall  be  as  wool."  Isaiah  I.-18. 

And  again : — 

"Let  the  wicked  forsake  his  way,  and  the 
unrighteous  man  his  thoughts:  and  let  him  return  unto  the 
Lord,  and  he  will  have  mercy  upon  him :  and  to  our  God,  for 
he  will  abundantly  pardon."  Isaiah  LV.-7. 

And  again  the  assurance  is  given : — 

"But  if  the  wicked  will 

turn  from  all  his  sins  that  he  hath  committed  (repentance  and 
reformation),  and  keep  all  my  statutes,  and  do  that  which  is 
lawful  and  right  (lead  a  new  life),  he  shall  surely  live,  he  shall 
not  die."  Ezekiel  XVIII.-21. 

Texts  might  be  multiplied.  They  are  many  and  clear  under 
the  Old  Covenant  upon  this  part  of  the  scheme  of  restoration. 

Repentance,  conversion  (turning  again)  cleansing  from  sin, 
leading  a  new  life — it  is  a  plain  pathway  in  which  no  man  could 
have  reason  or  excuse  for  going  astray.  How  it  was  to  be 
accomplished  was  not  yet  apparent.  But  men  were  beginning 
to  see  that  it  must  be  by  means  of  something  more  than  the 
blood  of  the  temple  sacrifice,  and  were  also  beginning  to  look 
beyond  to  a  true  sacrifice,  of  which  this  was  only  the  symbol. 
Isaiah,  with  the  vision  of  the  seer  upon  him,  looks  into  the 
future,  past  the  ritual  of  the  temple,  and  it  is  something  more 
than  the  blood  of  bulls  and  of  goats  that  he  sees  as  the  true 
atonement,  when  he  cries  out  in  awe  : 

"He,    wounded  for  our 

transgressions:  he,  bruised  for  our  iniquities:  the  penalty  of 
(which  secures)  our  peace,  upon  him:  and  with  his  stripes  we 
are  healed."  Isaiah  LIIL— 5. 

"He!"     Who?    One   who    "is   brought   as   a   lamb   to    the 


24  THE    WAY    OF^LIFE. 

slaughter — who  "is  cut  off  out  of  the  land  of  the  living" — who 
"for  the  transgression  of  my  people  is  stricken"— who  goes  down 
to  the  grave — he  who  "poured  out  his  soul  unto  death,"  and  was 
"numbered  with  the  transgressors;"  yet  he  "bare  the  sins  of 
many,  and  made  intercession  for  the  transgressors."  Isaiah 
LIII.-7,  12. 

"The  Lord  hath  laid  on  him  the  iniquity  of  us  all."  Isaiah 
LIII.-6. 

He— the  true  sacrifice :  when  is  he  to  come  ?  The  ages  went 
by,  and  still  only  the  symbol.  Why  the  long  delay  ? 

Apparently  because  man  still  had  need  of  the  school  of 
"good  and  evil,"  that  school  to  which  he  had  himself  opened 
the  door,  and  there  was  a  lesson  to  learn.  And  he  was  learning. 
He  was  learning  that  that  tree  of  the  Garden  was  a  tree  of 
of  good  and  evil.  Its  fruitage  of  evil  was  good  to  make  wise. 
The  tempter  was  right.  But  it  was  not  good  to  make  happy. 
This  he  had  not  told.  The  fruit  that  was  pleasant  to  the  eye 
has  proven  bitter  to  the  heart.  He  has  learned  also  that  God 
was  right,  that  the  law  of  the  soul  life  may  not  be  broken 
without  mortal  harm.  He  has  learned  the  bitterness  of  dying 
to  God. 

But  with  it  all  was  the  heart  of  the  world  yet  ready  to 
obey  the  voice,  and  say,  "I  repent  me  of  my  transgression. 
Forgive?"  Not  yet.  The  human  will  stood  across  the  path- 
way of  return,  and  the  heart  had  not  yet  entirely  sickened  of  its 
desire.  And  so  the  ages  went  on.  God  was  waiting  for  the 
"fulness  of  time."  (Galatians  IV.-4,  5.) 

Yet  the  word  of  warning  did  not  cease.  By  mouth  of  seer 
and  prophet  the  cry  went  out  year  after  year,  "Repent! 
Repent!"  Repent — it  is  the  burden  of  that  old  covenant  record. 

Yet  why  should  a  dead  man  repent  ?  What  good  can  it  do 
him?  The  law  was,  "In  the  day  that  thou  eatest  thereof,  thou 
shalt  surely  die."  And  man  ate  of  the  fruitage  of  the  tree  of 
the  knowledge  of  good  and  evil,  and  died  spiritually  to  God. 

Repentance  of  his  sin  and  pardon  of  the  score  of  transgression 
does  not  bring  life.  The  warning  cry  of  that  old  covenant 
record,  "Repent!",  if  it  stood  alone,  would  be  only  a  mockery 
to  man — this  man  with  the  soul  which  has  died  to  God. 


IV. 

IS   THERE    MORE  ? 


The  whole  of  the  Old  Covenant  record  is  instinct  with  the 
implied  pledge  that  there  is  more;  that  man,  spiritually  dead  to 
God  through  sin,  may  again  become  alive  spiritually  in  God. 
Without  this  thought  the  record  would  be  purposeless.  To 
God  man  is  still  his  son,  for  whom  he  is  planning  and  caring. 
It  is  man  who  has  died  to  God ;  not  God  who  has  died  to  man. 
Toward  man  he  is  still  God,  the  Father.  It  is  oftener  in  what 
is  implied,  than  in  what  is  directly  said,  that  the  hope  of  a  new 
life  in  God  for  the  soul  is  found,  yet  there  are  many  passages  in 
which  it  is  clearly  taught ;  and  men  did  not  fail  to  grasp  this 
truth  and  take  it  to  themselves.  Job  in  the  midst  of  his 
darkness  cries  out: 

"I  know  that  my  Redeemer  liveth,  and  that 

he  shall  stand  at  the  latter  day  upon  the  earth :  and  though 
alter  my  skin,  worms  destroy  this  body,  yet  in  my  flesh  shall 
I  see  God."  Job  XIX.-25,  26. 

David,  full  of  trust,  exclaims: 
"Thou  wilt  show  me  the  path  of  life."    Psalm  XVI.-ll. 

And  again: 

"As  for  me,  I  will  behold  thy  face  in  righteous- 
ness: I  shall  be  satisfied  when  I  awake  with  thy  likeness." 
Psalm  XVII-15. 

Awake  from  what  ?— from  the  spiritual  death  of  sin  ? 

Isaiah  has  the  promise: 

"Incline  your  ear  and  come  unto 

me;  hear,  and  your  soul  shall  live:  and  I  will  make  an  ever- 
lasting covenant  with  you,  even  the  sure  mercies  of  David." 
Isaiah  LY.-3. 


26  THE    WAY    OF    LIFE. 

"And  they  shall  teach  no  more,  every  man  his  neighbor,  and 
every  man  his  brother,  saying,  Know  the  Lord ;  for  they  shall 
all  know  me,  from  the  least  of  them  unto  the  greatest  of  them, 
saith  the  Lord :  for  I  will  forgive  their  iniquity,  and  I  will 
remember  their  sin  no  more."  Jeremiah  XXXI.-34. 

"Again,  when  the  wicked  man  turneth  away  from  his 
wickedness  that  he  hath  committed,  and  doeth  that  which  is 
lawful  and  right,  he  shall  save  his  soul  alive."  Ezekiel  XVITI.-27. 

Yet,  as  before  stated,  it  is  to  the  general  scope  and  spirit  of 
the  whole  of  the  old  covenant  record  that  we  must  look,  rather 
than  to  specific  passages,  for  light  upon  the  question  of  man's 
spiritual  restoration  to  God,  for  we  must  remember  that  the 
record  is  largely  only  a  hinting  and  a  prophecy  of  the  deeper 
things  of  God  which  were  yet  to  be  made  plain  in  the  clearer 
light  of  the  new  covenant. 

What  is  God  trying  to    do  with, 

and  for  his  people?  Is  he  simply  trying  to  undo  one  phase  of 
the  harm  which  came  of  the  fall— to  secure  to  man  pardon  for 
his  deeds  of  actual  transgression  ?  or  is  he  trying  to  undo  the 
whole  harm  of  the  fall,  and  fully  restore  man  to  his  first  estate: 
more — to  bring  out  of  it  yet  new  phases  of  good  to  man  over 
and  above  his  condition  before  he  spiritually  died  to  God  in  sin? 
It  is  by  constantly  bearing  in  mind  this  broader  aspect  of  the 
question  that  we  shall  be  prepared  to  discern  in  the  record 
evidences  of  such  a  plan,  should  they  be  therein  contained. 

That  they  who  were  under  the  old  covenant  in  some  sense 
saw  and  understood  its  teaching  of  this  broader  hope,  and  by 
faith  walked  in  this  light,  is  testified  in  Hebrews  XI.-13,  16: 

"These  all  died  in  faith,  not  having  received  the  promises 
(the  things  promised)  but  having  seen  them  afar  off,  and  were 
persuaded  of  them,  and  embraced  them,  and  confessed  that  they 
were  strangers  and  pilgrims  on  the  earth.  For  they  that  say  such 
things  declare  plainly  that  they  seek  a  country.  And  truly  if 
they  had  been  mindful  of  that  country  from  whence  they  came 
out,  they  might  have  had  opportunity  to  have  returned  :  but 
now  they  desire  a  better  country,  that  is  an  heavenly:  where- 
fore God  is  not  ashamed  to  be  called  their  God :  for  he  hath 
prepared  for  them  a  city." 


IS    THERE    MORE  ?  27 

But  the  burden  of  that  old  covenant  message  is  to  be  f  nd, 
not  in  the  hintings  and  prophecies  of  things  to  come,  butm  the 
word  "Repent."  It  is  the  deep  undertone  to  the  Law;  it  is  the 
last  warning  before  the  book  of  prophecy  is  closed.  Yet,  as  the 
gloom  of  the  passing  night  is  tinged  with  the  light  of  the 
coming  dawn,  so  the  gladness  of  a  prophecy  mingles  with  the 
warning : — 

"The  voice  of  him  that  crieth  in  the  wilderness,  Pre- 
pare ye  the  way  of  the  Lord,  make  straight  in  the  desert  a 
highway  for  our  God.  Every  valley  shall  be  exalted  (Heb.  nacah, 
to  lift  up),  and  every  mountain  and  hill  shall  be  made  low:  and 
the  crooked  shall  be  made  straight ;  and  the  rough 
places  plain:  and  the  glory  of  the  Lord  shall  be  revealed, 
and  all  flesh  shall  see  it  together,  for  the  mouth  of  the 
Lord  hath  spoken  it:"  ....  "He  shall  feed  his  flock  like  a 
shepherd :  he  shall  gather  the  lambs  with  his  arm,  and  carry 
them  in  his  bosom,  and  shall  gently  lead  those  that  are  with 
young."  Isaiah  XL.-3,  4,  5  and  11. 

Again  the  voice  goes  on : 

"Behold    my    servant    whom    I 

uphold:  mine  elect  in  whom 'my  soul  delighteth:  I  have  put  my 
spirit  upon  him:  he  shall  bring  forth  judgment  to  the  Gentiles. 
He  shall  not  cry  nor  lift  up,  nor  cause  his  voice  to  be  heard 
in  the  street.  A  bruised  reed  shall  he  not  break,  and  the  smoking 
flax  shall  he  not  quench:  he  shall  bring  forth  judgment  unto 
truth.  He  shall  not  fail  nor  be  discouraged,  till  he  have  set 
judgment  in  the  earth:  and  the  isles  shall  wait  for  his  law. 

Thus  saith  God,  the  Lord,  he  that  created  the  heavens  and 
stretched  them  out:  he  that  spread  forth  the  earth,  and  that 
which  cometh  out  of  it:  he  that  giveth  breath  unto  the  people 
upon  it,  and  spirit  to  them  that  walk  therein :  I  the  Lord  have 
called  thee  in  righteousness,  and  will  hold  thine  hand,  and  will 
keep  thee,  and  give  thee  for  a  covenant  of  the  people,  for  a 
light  of  the  Gentiles :  to  open  the  blind  eyes :  to  bring  out  the 
prisoners  from  prison,  and  them  that  sit  in  darkness  out  of  the 
prison  house.  I  am  the  Lord :  that  is  my  name :  and  my  glory 
will  I  not  give  to  another,  neither  my  praise  to  graven  images. 

Behold  the  former  things  are  come  to  pass,  and  new  things 
do  I  declare:  before  they  spring  forth  I  tell  you  of  them."  Isaiah 
XLII.-1-9. 

It  is  the  prophecy  of  something  better  than  earth  has  y 


28  THE    WAY    OF    LIFE. 

known.  It  is  the  gospel  of  hope,  the  promise  of  things  to  come: 
and  men,  the  old  covenant  men,  looked  up,  and  were  glad. 

Why  need  the  true  sacrifice  have  come  before  the  end  ?  Why 
not  have  let  man  go  on  accepting  the  sacrifice  by  faith,  as  told 
in  Hebrews  XI.-13,  16,  and  then,  at  the  last  day,  when  all  the 
numberless  millions  of  earth's  centuries  are  gathered  together 
before  Him  that  sitteth  upon  the  throne,  why  might  not  Christ, 
the  true  Sacrificial  Lamb,  have  stood  forth  and  said,  "I  now 
offer  myself,  the  sacrifice,  to  make  good  the  promise  by  paying 
the  penalty  lor  sin  for  all  those  who  by  faith  took  hold  upon 
the  promises;"  and  then,  once  for  all,  have  entered  into  death? 

There  was  pardon  for  transgression  through  faith,  under 
that  old  covenant,  clearly  taught ;  open  to  all  men :  entered  into 
by  many.  Why  not  have  gone  on  in  the  old  way  to  the  end  ? 

Was  it  because  the  old  way  was  not  complete  ?  because  God 
had  yet  more  in  store  for  man  ?  something  not  yet  made  plain, 
only  hinted  at,  and  for  which  the  heart  of  the  world  had  not 
yet  grown  ready? 

"Strengthen  ye  the  weak  hands,  and  confirm 
the  feeble  knees.  Say  to  them  that  are  of  a  fearful  heart,  Be 
strong,  fear  not."  Isaiah  XXXV.-3,  4. 

Why  ?     Because  "the  former  things  are  come 

to  pass,  and  new  things  do  I  declare:"  (Isaiah  XLII.-9) ; 
and  because  of  a  new  covenant  that  is  to  come: — 

"Behold  the  days  come,  saith  the 

Lord,  that  I  will  make  a  new  covenant  with  the  house  of  Israel, 
and  with  the  house  of  Judah :  not  according  to  the  covenant 
that  I  made  with  their  fathers  in  the  day  that  I  took  them 
by  the  hand  to  bring  them  out  of  the  land  of  Egypt :  which  my 
covenant  they  brake,  although  I  was  a  husband  unto  them, 
saith  the  Lord :  but  this  shall  be  the  covenant  that  I  will  make 
with  the  house  of  Israel :  After  those  days,  saith  the  Lord,  I 
will  put  my  law  in  their  inward  parts,  and  write  it  in  their 
hearts:  and  will  be  their  God,  and  they  shall  be  my  people. 
And  they  shall  teach  no  more  every  man  his  neighbor,  and 
every  man  his  brother,  saying,  Know  the  Lord :  for  they  shall 
all  know  me,  from  the  least  of  them  unto  the  greatest  of  them, 
saith  the  Lord  ;  for  I  will  forgive  their  iniquity,  and  I  will 
remember  their  sin  no  more."  Jeremiah  XXXI.-31,  34. 

The  book  of  the  prophecy  of  the  Old  Covenant  closed,  the 
covenant  of  the  sacrificial  blood,  and  of  repentance  unto  the 


IS    THERE    MORE?  29 

remission  of  sin ;    and  the  world  waited  for  the  New  Covenant 
with  the  new  things  it  was  to  bring  forth  for  man's  soul. 


NOTE  FROM  PAGE  12. 

The  fuller  discussion  of  this  topic, 

"Why  did  God    thus 

place  man  where  he  would  be  subject  to  temptations,  and  the 
possibility  of  spiritual  death?" 

will  be  found  in  Chapter  IX., 
under  the  question, 

"Why  has  God  thus  planned  that  the  "babe 

in  Christ"  shall  come  to  the  "measure  of  the  stature  of  the  fulness 
of  Christ,"  through  struggling  and  battling?" 


V. 
THE    TRUE   SACRIFICE. 


In  the  reign  of  Tiberius  Caesar,  a  man  clad  in  the  garb 
of  one  of  the  old  prophets  came  from  the  wilds  of  Judea  with  a 
warning  cry  that  startled  the  Jewish  world.  The  book  of 
prophecy,  so  long  closed,  was  reopened.  John  was  the  last  of 
the  old  prophets,  the  first  of  the  new.  He  is  the  human  link 
binding  together  old  and  new.  With  one  hand  he  takes  hold 
upon  Elijah,  with  the  other  upon  Christ.  He  has  a  double 
message — to  proclaim  the  passing  of  the  Old  Covenant — to 
herald  the  incoming  of  that  which  is  to  supplant,  by  comple- 
menting, it.  To  the  Jew  he  says,  "Think  not  to  say  within 
yourselves,  We  have  Abraham  to  our  father:  for  I  say  unto  you 
that  God  is  able  of  these  stones  to  raise  up  children  unto 
Abraham."  (Matthew  III.-9).  It  is  the  passing  also  of  the 
Hebrew  kingdom  of  exclusiveness,  and  of  the  old  covenant  of 
the  flesh.  It  is  the  coming  in  of  the  broader  Israel  of  God,  and 
of  the  new  covenant  with  the  heart  —  that  Israel,  and  that 
covenant  of  which  Jeremiah  wrote  (as  before  quoted)  in  the 
closing  promise  of  the  old : 

"Behold  the  days  come,  saith  the 

Lord,  that  I  will  make  a  new  covenant  with  the  house  of 
Israel,  and  with  the  house  of  Judah :  not  according  to  the  cov- 
enant that  I  made  with  their  fathers,  in  the  day  that  I  took 
them  by  the  hand,  to  bring  them  out  of  the  land  of  Egypt  (the 
covenant  of  the  Paschal  lamb,  and  of  the  blood  atonement  for 
transgression):  which  my  covenant  they  brake,  although  I  was 
an  husband  unto  them,  saith  the  Lord :  but  this  shall  be  the 
covenant  that  I  will  make  with  the  house  of  Israel :  After  those 
days,  saith  the  Lord,  I  will  put  my  law  in  their  inward  parts, 


THE    TRUE    SACRIFICE.  31 

and  write  it  in  their  hearts:  and  will  be  their  God,  and  they 
shall  be  my  people.  And  they  shall  teach  no  more  every  man 
his  neighbor,  and  every  man  his  brother,  saying,  Know  the 
Lord:  for  they  shall  all  know  me,  from  the  least  of  them  unto 
the  greatest  of  them,  saith  the  Lord :  for  I  will  forgive  their 
iniquity,  and  I  will  remember  their  sin  no  more."  Jeremiah 
XXXI.-31,  34. 

But  still  John  proclaims  the  old  message,  "Repent!  Repent!" 
Why  repent?  Because  "the  kingdom  of  heaven  is  at  hand." 
Therefore,  "Prepare  ye  the  way  of  the  Lord"  (Matthew  III.-l, 
3) — the  Lord  of  the  new  kingdom  upon  earth.  The  Jews,  with 
thought  apparently  of  that  prophetic  message  of  Isaiah,  "The 
voice  of  him  that  crieth  in  the  wilderness,  Prepare  ye  the  way 
of  the  Lord;  make  straight  in  the  desert  a  highway 
for  our  God,"  and  of  that  last  warning  of  Malachi 
ere  the  book  of  prophecy  was  closed,  "Behold,  I  will 
send  you  Elijah  the  prophet  before  the  coming  of  the  great  and 
dreadful  day  of  the  Lord :  and  he  shall  turn  the  heart  of  the 
fathers  to  the  children,  and  the  heart  of  the  children  to  their 
fathers,  lest  I  come  and  smite  the  earth  with  a  curse,"  ask  him, 
"Art  thou  Elijah?"  No,  he  replies,  "I  am  the  voice  of  one  crying 
in  the  wilderness,  "Make  straight  the  way  of  the  Lord,  as  said 
the  prophet  Isaiah."  John  1-23. 

The  old  covenant  with  its  symbolic  sacrifice  for  sin  had 
come,  is  passing,  and  now  the  warning  cry  goes  out,  "Prepare 
ye  the  way  of  the  Lord,  make  his  paths  straight."  Matthew 
III.-3. 

How  are  they  to  prepare  the  way  and  make  straight 
the  path  for  the  Lord  ?  The  words  imply  something  which  man 
can  do,  and  which  God  cannot  do :  something  which  has  to  do 
with  man's  free  will.  John's  message  tells.  It  is  summed  up  in 
'the  one  word,  Repent.  And  of  his  own  work,  as  one  who  is 
helping  to  prepare  the  way,  he  says,  "I  indeed  baptize  you  with 
water  unto  repentance:"  Matthew  III.-ll. 

Mark  says,  "repentance  unto  remission  of  sins."    Mark  1-4. 


"Remission  of  sins."    How  is  it  obtained  ? 
The  Old  Covenant  gave  the  altar  service,  and  the  sacrificial 
offerings  of  blood  for  the  remission  of  sin,  yet  plamly  confessed 


32  THE    WAY    OF    LIFE. 

they  were  only  symbolic :  that  the  true  sacrifice,  of  which  these 
were  only  the  sign,  was  yet  to  be  offered. 

And  Hebrews,  looking  backward,  says,  "For  it  is  not 
possible  that  the  blood  of  bulls,  and  of  goats,  should  take  away 
sins."  Heb.  X.-4. 

But  that  day  by  the  river,  as  John  looks  upon  Jesus,  the 
Christ,  he  recognizes  in  him  the  true  sacrifice,  and  exclaims: 

"Behold  the  Lamb  of  God,  which  taketh  away  the  sin  of 
the  world."  John  I.-29. 

Christ  himself  confirms  this  as,  that  night'of  the  last  supper, 
he  takes  the  cup,  and  says: 

"Drink  ye  all  of  it:    for  this  is  my 

blood    of  the   new    covenant    which    is  shed  for  many  for  the 
remission  of  sins."    Matthew  XXVI.-28. 

Calvary,  and  the  cross,  and  that  cry,  "It  is  finished,"  are 
the  closing  of  the  old  covenant,  the  covenant  of  pardon  for 
transgression.  Henceforth  this  much  at  least  of  the  way  toward 
life  was  established,  not  to  be  repeated.  Hebrews  recognizes 
this  great  basic  fact  of  Christianity  :— 

"So  Christ  was  once  offered  to 
bear  the  sins  of  many."    IX.-28. 

—"But  this  man,  after  he  had  offered  one  sacrifice  for  sins 
forever,  sat  down  on  the  right  hand  of  God."  X.-12: 

—"Now  where  remission  of  these  (sins  and  iniquities)  is,  there 
is  no  more  offering  for  sin."  X.-1S. 


Is,  then,  remission  of  sins  —  pardon  for  his  transgressions  — 
all  that  Christ's  coming  brought  to  man  ? 

If  so,    why    does 

Christ  himself  in  his  teachings  dwell  so  little  upon  it  ?  Take 
the  narrative  of  the  four  gospels.  They  are  the  record  of  the 
Christ-life,  and  the  Christ  teachings,  and  the  Christ  prophecies. 

He  does  not  say  much  about  repentance.  He  seems  to  look 
upon  this  as  a  conceded  fact,  one  upon  which jt  enough  has 
already  been  said;  one  which  men  will  hardly  question.  It  was 
the  burden  of  the  Old  Covenant  message.  That  record  was  full 
of  it — transgression,  broken  law,  turning  away  from  God,  evil 
ways,  impurity,  uncleanness,  wickedness;  and  God's  condemna- 
tion upon  it  all ;  and  then  the  warning  cry,  "Turn  ye,  turn  ye, 
for  why  will  ye  die!" 


THE    TRUE    SACRIFICE.  33 

And  that  the  repentant  sinner  might  have  somewhat  to 
look  to  by  faith,  the  blood  of  the  sacrifice  was  poured  out 
unceasingly  upon  the  altar.  John,  the  last  of  the  old  prophets, 
still  sounds  the  warning.  It  is  repentance,  confession,  baptism, 
remission  of  sins. 

Christ  himself  recognizes  the  sufficiency  of  the  old  covenant 
for  this  work,  in  the  parable  of  the  rich  man  and  Lazarus:  — 

"Abraham  saith  unto  him,  They  have  Moses  and  the 
Prophets,  let  them  hear  them.  And  he  said,  Nay,  Father 
Abraham :  but  if  one  went  unto  them  from  the  dead,  they  will 
repent.  And  he  said  unto  him,  If  they  hear  not  Moses  and  the 
Prophets,  neither  will  they  be  persuaded  though  one  rose  from 
the  dead."  Luke  XVL-29,  31. 

Though  the  parable  is  not  of  Christ's  resurrection,  yet  the 
parallel  is  a  startling  one. 

The  Christ  coming  brought  remission  of  sins.  Was  this  all 
that  it  brought?  or  did  it  bring  more  to  man? 


VI. 
NEW-THINGS. 

"Behold  the  former  things  are  come  to  pass,  and  new  things 
do  I  declare:  before  they  spring  forth  I  tell  you  of  them." 
Isaiah  XLII.-9. 

It  is  the  voice  of  the  Lord,  speaking  through 
the  prophet  Isaiah  of  the  Christ  coming,  and  what  it  is  to 
bring  to  earth.  The  fulfilling  of  the  Old  Covenant  then  was 
not  all.  There  was  to  be  more.  The  whole  Christ  life  and  the 
Christ  teaching  upon  earth  is  clearly  based  upon  this  thought. 
While  he  does  not  dwell  upon  repentance,  speaking  of  it 
incidentally,  as  a  thing  essential,  and  conceded  of  all,  and  not 
needing  apparently  further  speech  from  him,  he  does  teach 
something  else,  teaches  it  incessantly.  As  there  was  a  burden 
to  the  message  of  the  old,  so  there  is  a  burden  to  the  message 
of  the  new.  It  is  the  thought  that  there  is  something  more  than 
repentance  and  the  remission  of  the  old  score  of  sin  needed 
before  one  can  again  be  restored  to  the  lost  sonship. 

"For  I 

say  unto  you,  That  except  your  righteousness  shall  exceed  the 
righteousness  of  the  scribes  and  Pharisees,  ye  shall  in  no  case 
enter  into  the  kingdom  of  heaven."  Matt.  V.-20. 

This  to  men  living  under  the  old  law  of  repentance  unto 
remission  of  sins.  He  speaks  of  righteousness,  of  denying  self,  of 
giving  up  all  for  God,  of  a  pure  heart,  "Blessed  are  the  pure  in 
heart  for  they  shall  see  God."  Matth.  V.  8. 

He  is  speaking  of  a  life,  a  life  upon  a  distinctly  different 
plane  from  the  life  under  the  old  law.  "Ye  have  heard  that  it 
hath  been  said" — "but  I  say  unto  you,"  is  the  note  of  emphasis 
in  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount.  It  is  something  deeper,  more 
heart  searching  than  the  old  Law. 


NEW    THINGS.  35 

It  is  in  the  scene  with  Nicodemus  in  John  III.— 1,  8,  that  the 
advanced  plane  of  the  new  above  the  old  is  clearly  announced. 
It  is  a  distinct  and  unmistakable  setting  forth  of  the  great 
message  Christ  came  to  bring.  Nicodemus,  who  by  the  scenes 
in  which  he  appears  (John  III.-VII.-XIX)  seems  to  have  been  a 
fair. minded  man,  walking  in  the  light  of  the  old  Covenant,  and 
manifestly,  from  the  disposition  he  displays,  far  above  the 
average  of  the  Old  Covenant  Jew  as  a  just  man,  comes  to 
Christ  apparently  for  light  upon  his  teachings.  Christ,  whether 
answering  a  spoken  question  of  Nicodemus  which  has  escaped 
record,  or  answering  the  unspoken  need  of  the  heart,  says: 

"Verily,  verily,  I  say  unto  thee,  Except  a  man  be  born  again 
he  cannot  see  the  kingdom  of  God." 

And   then  in  reply  to  the 

puzzled  inquiry  of  Nicodemus  over  the  meaning  of  the  answer, 
Christ  replies  again,  but  this  time  more  explicitly: 

"Verily,  verily,  I  say  unto  thee,  except  a  man  be  born  of 
water  and  of  the  Spirit,  he  cannot  enter  into  the  Kingdom  of 
God."  John  III.-3,  5. 


Why  "born  again?" 

Without    the    first    three   chapters    of 

Genesis  the  answer  which  Christ  gave  that  day  would  be  as 
meaningless  to  every  human  soul  as  it  was,  for  the  moment,  to 
Nicodemus.  Birth  is  the  gateway  of  life.  There  is  no  other. 
Man  thus  entered  into  spiritual  life  that  day  when  God  breathed 
into  him  the  breath  of  life,  and  man  became  a  living  soul. 
(Genesis  II.-7).  But  he  died  to  God.  And  now,  through  Nico- 
demus, Christ  proclaims  to  man,  man  spiritually  dead  to  God 
in  sin,  the  wonderful  thought,  Ye  may  be  born  again;  born 
out  of  death  into  life.  And  more;  to  man  he  says,  If  you  would 
again  become  spiritually  alive  to  God,  you  must  be  born  again. 
The  whole  scene  is  as  though  Christ  had  said  to  him, — 

"Nicodemus,  man  was  born  once,  when  God  breathed  into 
him  the  breath  of  life,  and  man  became  a  living  soul.  But  he 
died :  died  to  God  in  the  day  of  his  transgression  of  the  law  of 
soul  life.  If  he  would  live  he  must  be  born  again.  Only  through 
birth  may  one  enter  into  life.  The  breath  of  life  must  be  breathed 
into  him  anew  before  he  can  pass  from  his  spiritual  death  back 
into  life  again,  life  in  God.  Man  may  again  become  the  temple 


36  THE    W    Y    OF    LIFE. 

of  the  living  God,  but  God  cannot  dwell  in  an  unclean  temple. 
(I.  Corinth.  III.-16,  17.)  Hence  John  came  crying,  "Prepare  ye 
the  way.  Repent  and  be  baptized  to  the  remission  of  sins." 
Then,  when  you  have  thus  prepared  the  way,  he  will  come  in 
and  ye  shall  be  able  to  receive  him."  And  then? — 

"But  as  many 

as  received  nim,  to  them  gave  he  power  to  become  the  sons  of 
God:  even  to  them  that  believe  on  his  name:  which  were  born, 
not  of  blood,  nor  of  the  will  of  the  flesh,  nor  of  the  will  of  man, 
but  of  God."  John  I.-12,  13. 

"Lift  up  your  heads,  O  ye  gates;  and  be  ye  lift  up,  ye 
everlasting  doors:  and  the  King  of  glory  shall  come  in."— Psalm 
XXIV.-7. — even  into  his  holy  temple,  "for  ye  are  the  temple  of 
the  living  God."  -II.  Corinth.  YI.-16. 

And  now  to  the  questioning  wonder  of  Nicodemus  over  the 
strange  mystery,  Christ  makes  reply:— 

"The  wind  bloweth  where 

it  listeth,  and  thou  nearest  the  sound  thereof,  but  canst  not  tell 
whence  it  cometh  nor  whither  it  goeth:  so  is  every  one  that  is 
born  of  the  Spirit."  John  III.-8. 

No  man  has  ever  yet  solved 

the  mystery  of  animal  life.  It  is  the  despair  of  the  scientist. 
Neither  has  auy  man  ever  yet  solved  the  mystery  of  soul  life. 
Both  are  God's  mysteries. 


VII. 
THE    NEW    BIRTH. 

What  does  Christ  mean  by  the  words  "born  again?" 

He  is 

evidently  pointing  to  some    radical    change    in    man's    spiritual 
nature.    The  full  verse  in  John  III.— 5,  reads, 

"Except  a  man  be 

born  of  water  and  of  the  Spirit,  he  cannot  enter  into  the  king- 
dom of  God." 

A  condition  which  is  laid  down  by  Christ  him- 
self as    absolutely    essential    to    salvation    should    be   carefully 
examined.    Let  us  analyze  it: 
Ye  must  be  born. 
Ye  must  be  born  again. 
Ye  must  be  born  of  water  and   of  the  Spirit. 


Ye  must  be  born.  The  very  words  imply  that  there  is  a 
spiritual  condition  in  which  man  is  not  alive  to  God :  is  dead 
spiritually;  and  that  the  breath  of  life  must  be  breathed  into 
the  dead  soul  before  it  can  live. 


"Ye  must  be  born  again.11 

The  implication  is  that  this  is  a 

second  birth ;  that  once  before  man  was  a  living  soul ;  that  the 
breath  of  spiritual  life  departed  from  him,  and  he  became  dead 
to  God:  that  the  breath  of  life  which  once  was  in  the  soul,  and 
departed,  may  and  must  return,  in  order  that  man  may  again 
become  a  living  soul — alive  to  God. 

Ye  must  be  born  of  water  and  of  the  Spirit. 

Do  these  two 


38  THE    WAY    OF    LIFE. 

words  indicate  the  same  thing?      No.      John  says: 

"I    indeed 

baptize  you  with  water  unto  repentance  ("and  remission  of 
sins,"— Mark),  but  he  that  cometh  after  me  is  mightier  than  I, 
whose  shoes  I  am  not  worthy  to  bear:  he  shall  baptize  you 
with  the  Holy  Ghost  (IIv£v/«m— Spirit)  and  with  fire."  Matih. 
III.-ll. 

"With  water"  is  to  repentance  and  the  remission  of 
sins,  and  is  expressly  so  limited.  Baptism  with  the  Holy  Ghost 
(Trv^vfWL  —  Spirit)  and  with  fire  is  specifically  expressed  by 
John  as  conveying  something  other,  and  different  from  repent- 
ance and  remission  of  sins,  and  for  which  repentance  and 
remission  of  sins  are  prerequisites  to  prepare  the  way.  Water 
and  the  Spirit  do  not  therefore  mean  the  same. 


One  other  point  should  be  settled  before  going  on  to  discuss 
what  is  meant  by  "Born  of  the  Spirit."  Three  different  phrases 
occur  in  the  New  Covenant  record  so  akin  in  form  that  the  ques- 
tion at  once  arises,  Are  they  the  same  in  meaning,  or  are  they 
used  to  express  different  meanings? 

"Born  of  the  Spirit." 

"Born  of  God." 

"Begotten  of  God." 

The     words    born,    begotten,    begat, 

occur  108  times  in  the  New  Testament.  Of  these  the  verb 
yevraw,  in  some  one  of  its  forms  or  compounds,  and  meaning 
either  to  beget  or  to  bring  forth,  is  used  102  times. 

TI'KTCO  in  some  of  its  forms,  meaning  to  beget,  or  to 
bring  forth,  is  used  4  times.  ATTOKVOO,  to  beget,  or  to 
bring  forth,  1  time.  "E/cT/aw/Lux,  untimely  birth,  1  time. 
While  the  translation  is  sometimes  born,  sometimes  begotten, 
the  meaning  in  all  cases  is,  The  giving  of  life,  so  that  one  born 
of  God,  or  begotten  of  God,  is  one  receiving  life  of  God. 
Sometimes  the  wording  is  "born  of  God,"  sometimes,  "born  of 
the  Spirit,"  but  with  the  acceptance  of  the  doctrine  of  the 
Trinity  the  force  would  be  the  same  in  either  case. 

The  three  different  phrases,  born  of  the  spirit,  born  of  God, 
begotten  of  God,  mriy,  therefore,  be  accepted  as  expressing  the 
same  fact,  namely,  that  man,  spiritually  dead  to  God  in  sin, 
becomes  by  a  second  spiritual  birth  alive  again  to  God. 


THE    NEW    BIRTH.  39 

Is    this    new  spiritual  birth    essential  to  salvation? 

"Jesus 

answered  and  said  unto  him,  Verily,  verily,  I  say  unto  thee, 
Except  a  man  be  born  again  he  cannot  see  the  kingdom  of 
God."  John  III.-3. 

And  again, 

"Jesus  answered,  Verily,  verily,  I  say  unto  thee,  Except  a 
man  be  born  of  water,  and  of  the  Spirit,  he  cannot  enter  into 
the  Kingdom  of  God."  John  III.-5. 

How  is  a  soul  "born  again?" 

"But    as    many    as  received 

him,  to  them  gave  he  power  to  become  the  sons  of  God,  even 
to  them  that  believe  on  his  name:  which  were  born,  not  of 
blood,  nor  of  the  will  of  the  flesh,  nor  of  the  will  of  man,  but 
of  God."  John  I.-12,  13. 

"Whosoever  believeth  that  Jesus  is  the  Christ,  is  born  of 
God:"  I.  John  V.-I. 

"For  ye  are  all  the  children  of  God  by  faith  in  Chriit  Jesus." 
Galatians  III.-26. 

"For  as  many  as  are  led  by  the  Spirit  of  God,  they  are  the 
sons  of  God."  Romans  VIIL-14. 

The  statement  from  Romans  makes  more  explicit,  and 
prevents  the  inadequate  construction  which  might  otherwise  be 
given  to  the  text  from  John  as  above.  It  is  the  belief  which  is 
more  than  mere  intellectual  assent,  a  belief  which  gives  itself  up 
to  the  spirit  for  guidance. 

What  does  this  new  birth    (regeneration)   bring  to  a  soul? 

"For  God  so  loved  the  world  that  he  gave  his  only  begotten 
Son.  that  whosoever  believeth  in  him  should  not  perish,  but 
have  everlasting  life."  John  III.— 16. 

"He  that  believeth  on  the  Son  hath  everlasting  life."  John 
III.-36. 

"Verily,  verily,  I  say  unto  you,  He  that  heareth  my  word, 
and  believeth  on  him  that  sent  me,  hath  everlasting  life,  and 
shall  not  come  into  condemnation:  but  is  passed  from  death 
unto  life."  John  V.-24. 

How  shall  a  soul  know  that  it  is  born  again  ? 

"The  Spirit 


40  THE    WAY    OF    LIFE. 

itself  beareth  witness  with  our  spirit,  that  we  are  the  children 
of  God."  Romans  VIII.-16. 

"He  that  believeth  on  the  Son  of  God  hath  the  witness  in 
himself."  I.  John  V.-10. 

In  what  way  is  this  witness  made  known? 

The  Scriptures 

do  not  say.  This  is  God's  dealing  with  each  individual  soul; 
and  as  no  two  of  God's  children  are  mentally  or  spiritually 
alike,  the  probability  is  that  God  speaks  to  no  two  in  exactly 
the  same  manner. 

The  only  light  upon  this  point  will  be  had  by  analyzing 
the  statements  of  those  who  profess  to  have  received  the  wit- 
ness, eliminating  as  non-essential  the  points  wherein  they  are 
unlike,  noting  the  points,  or  point,  in  which  they  are  the  same. 
The  one  point  in  which  they  are  all  found  to  agree  is  this  —  a 
mental  conviction  that  the  work  of  regeneration  is  done  and 
that  they  are  again  the  children  of  God.  And  this  conviction  is 
based  upon  the  knowledge  of  compliance  with  the  prerequisite 
conditions  as  laid  down  by  God,  namely: 

1— Repentance  unto  the  remission  of  sins,  through  faith  in 
the  atoning  sacrifice  of  Christ  as  the  offering  for  pardon  of 
transgression:  and 

2 — Believing  in  Jesus  Christ  as  divine,  the  Son  of  God,  with 
all  that  this  involves  in  the  acceptance  of  the  Christ  life  and  the 
Christ  teachings  as  the  pattern  for  a  new  life  in  God. 

When  does  the  New  Birth  in  God  come  to  man? 

While  the 

Scriptures  do  not  point  to  the  hour  in  any  human  life  when 
this  change  comes  to  man,  they  give  reasonable  ground  for 
inferring  when  the  time  may  be. 

(a)— Repentance  and  the  remission  of  sins  are  the  preparing 
of  the  way.  They  are  only  this.  They  are  the  means  to  an 
end.  Without  more,  man,  though  a  pardoned  criminal,  would 
still  be  dead  to  God.  With  the  way  prepared,  it  is  not  probable 
that  God  would  withhold,  even  temporarily,  the  consummation 
to  which  they  are  directed. 

(b)— As  the  repentant  soul  is  not,  by  the  mere  act  of  repent- 
ance, alive  in  God,  and  thus  secure  of  that  eternal  life  which  is 
the  intended  and  promised  end  of  repentance,  it  is  not  probable 


THE    NEW    BIRTH.  41 

that  God  would  delay  this  seal  of  safety  a  moment  beyond  the 
time  when  the  way  has  been  prepared  by  repentance. 

(c)— To  take  any  one  of  the  several  texts  quoted  in  the  pre- 
vious section,  and  which  all  bear  more  or  less  directly  also  upon 
the  question  asked  in  this  section,  when  Christ  said, 

"He  that  heareth  my  word,  and  believeth  on  him  that  sent 
me,  hath  everlasting  life,  and  shall  not  come  into  condemnation; 
but  is  passed  from  death  unto  life,"  the  legitimate,  and  indeed 
the  inevitable  inference  is  that  the  the  moment  of  belief  and 
acceptance  is  the  moment  also  of  the  new  birth. 

Upon  this  question  Christ's  parable  of  the  return  of  the 
Prodigal  Son  throws  an  additional  light.  The  son  in  his 
disobedience  and  sin  repents,  and  turns  back  to  the  father  for 
forgiveness: — 

"But  when  he  was  yet  a  great  way  off,  his 
father  saw  him,  and  had  compassion,  and  ran  and  fell  on  his 
neck  and  kissed  him.  .  .  .  For  this,  my  son,  was  dead,  and 
is  alive  again ;  he  was  lost,  and  is  found."  Luke  XV.- 20  and  24. 

Is  it  probable,  is  it  possible,  that  God  would  do  less?  Oh, 
"Like  as  a  father  pltieth  his  children,  so  the  Lord  pitieth  them 
that  fear  him."  Psalm  CIII.-13. 


VIII. 
BABES    IN   CHRIST. 

What  is  now  the  condition  of  the  reborn  soul  ? 

That  it  is 

passed  from  death  unto  life,  and  is  now  become  again  a  child 
of  God,  is  manifest  from  the  texts  already  quoted.  But  is  the 
battle  with  sin  then  over:  the  danger  past;  the  soul  out  at  last 
safe  in  God  ? 

If  we  were  to  take  one  writer  alone  for  our  authority, 
and  one  or  two  isolated  texts  for  answer,  we  should  say,  Yes, 
the  battle  is  won :  and  there  is  to  be  no  more  conflict  with  sin. 

"Whosoever  is  born  of  God  doth  not  commit  sin:  for  his 
(avrov,  i.  e.  God's)  seed  (the  germ  of  the  new  life)  remaineth 
in  him:  and  he  cannot  sin,  because  he  is  born  of  God."  I.John 
III.-9. 

''We  know  that  whosoever  is  born  of  God  sinneth  not:  but 
he  that  is  begotten  of  God  keepeth  himself,  and  that  wicked 
one  toucheth  him  not."  I  John  V.— 18. 

Yet  how  are  we  to  reconcile  these  statements  with  John 
himself,  when  he  says: — 

"I    write    unto    you    little   children, 

because  your  sins  are  forgiven  you  for  his  name's  sake."  I.  John 
II.-12. 

and  then: — 

"My  little  children,  these  things  write  I 

unto  you,  that  (fva,  to  the  end  that)  ye  sin  not.  And  if  any 
man  sin  (speaking  to  them  still),  we  have  an  Advocate  with 
the  Father,  Jesus  Christ,  the  righteous:  and  he  is  the  propitia- 
tion for  our  sins:  and  not  for  ours  only,  but  also  for  the  sins 
of  the  whole  world."  I.  John  II.-l,  2. 

And  the  epistle  ends  with  a  last  warning, 

"Little  children, 


BABES    IN    CHRIST.  43 

keep  yourselves  from  idols."    V.-21. 

Are  these  "little  children"  whom  he  is  so  earnestly  address- 
ing and  cautioning,  "born  again"? 

"Ye  are  of  God,  little  children."    I.  John  IV.-4. 

And  again  he  puts  them  upon  the  same  spiritual  plane  with 
himself  in  the  second  verse  after,  when  he  says  in  speaking  to 
them,  "We  are  of  God." 

Again  he  says  of  them  together  with  himself: — 

"Marvel 

not,  my  brethren,  if  the  world  hate  you.  We  know  that  we 
have  passed  from  death  unto  life,  because  we  love  the  brethren." 
I.  John  III.-13,  14. 

This  whole  epistle  of  John,  while  it  contains  the  texts 
already  given,  which  state  that  one  born  of  God,  ."doth  not 
sin,"  "cannot  sin,"  is  yet  a  constant  cry  of  warning  to  those 
whom  he  recognizes  as  born  of  God,  to  beware  of  sin;  to  be 
watchful  that  they  "abide"  in  God:  and  yet  that  if  they  should 
fall  into  sin  to  remember  that  we  have  still  an  "Advocate  with 
the  Father,"  who  is  also  the  "propitiation  for  our  sins." 

How  are  we  to  reconcile  this  conflict?  If  one  born  of  God 
cannot  sin,  why  this  constant  warning  to  those  whom  he  recog- 
nizes as  born  of  God,  to  beware  of  sin,  and  to  be  on  their 
guard  against  it? 

Before  seeking  an  answer  to  the  question,  let  us  take  other 
testimony  upon  this  point  of  the  possibility  of  transgression  in 
those  "born  of  God." 

Test  John    by    Paul.     Paul,  the 

apostle,  who  saw  God  that  day  upon  the  Damascus  road;  who 
is  preaching  the  Word,  having  given  up  all  for  Christ;  of  whom 
God  says,  "He  is  a  chosen  vessel  unto  me  (Acts  IX.-15);  to 
whom  Ananias  says: 

"Brother  Saul,  the  Lord,  even  Jesus,  that  appeared  unto 
thee  in  the  way  as  thou  earnest,  hath  sent  me  that  thou 
mightest  receive  thy  sight,  and  be  filled  with  the  Holy  Ghost." 
(Acts  IX.-17);  this  "Saul  (who  is  also  called  Paul)  filled  with 
the  Holy  Ghost"  (Acts  XIII.-9);  this  Paul  who  goes  out  as  a 
flaming  fire  brand  to  preach  Christ,  his  ministry  attested  by 
power  to  work  miracles;  by  the  laying  on  of  whose  hands  the 
Holy  Ghost  is  giyen  (Acts  XIX.-6);  this  Paul,  as  he  looks  into 
his  own  soul,  says  this  of  himself: — 

"For  the  good  that  I  would,  I  do  not:  but  the  evil  which  I 


44  THE    WAY    OF    LIFE. 

would  not,  that  I  do.  Now  if  I  do  that  I  would  not,  it  is  no 
more  I  that  do  it,  but  sin  that  dwelleth  in  me.  1  find  then  a 
law,  that  when  I  would  do  good,  evil  is  present  with  me. 
For  I  delight  in  the  law  of  God  after  the  inward  man:  but  I 
see  another  law  in  my  members,  warring  against  the  law  of  my 
mind,  and  bringing  me  into  captivity  to  the  law  of  sin  which  is 
in  my  members."  Romans  VII.-19,  23. 

Again  he  says  of  himself: — 

"But  I    keep    under  my    body, 

and  bring  it  into  subjection ;  lest  that  by  any  means  when  I 
have  preached  to  others,  I  myself  should  be  a  castaway." 
I.  Corinth.  IX.-27. 

To  the  Ephesians  he  writes:— 

"And  grieve  not  the  Holy 

Spirit  of  God,  whereby  ye  are  sealed  unto  the  day  of  redemp- 
tion," Ephesians  IV.— 30. 

To  Timothy  he  writes: 

"Now  the  Spirit  speaketh  expressly, 

that  in  the  latter  times  some  shall  depart  from  the  faith,  giving 
heed  to  seducing  spirits,  and  doctrines  of  devils."  I.  Timothy 
IV.-l. 

As  the  warning  cry  of  that  old  covenant  record  to  the  soul 
dead  in  sin  is  ever,  Repent!  Repent!  so  the  warning  cry 
of  the  new  covenant  record  to  those  who  are  born 
again  is  ever,  Beware  of  sin!  watch!  fight!  "Let  him 
that  thinketh  he  standeth  take  heed  lest  he  fall."  I.  Corinth. 
X.-12.  Every  epistle  that  goes  out  to  the  infant  church  is  filled 
with  the  warning. 

How,  then,  are  we  to  reconcile  this  apparent  conflict  of  John 
with  the  other  writers  ?  this  apparent  conflict  of  John 
with  himself?  —  for  John,  as  already  stated,  has  said  that  the 
soul  born  of  God  "cannot  sin,"  yet  goes  on  in  the  same  epistle  to 
warn  those  whom  he  recognizes  as  "born  of  God"  to  beware  of 
the  danger  of  falling  into  sin,  and  if  they  should  so  fall,  to 
remember  that  "we  have  an  Advocate  with  God,  who  is  also 
the  propitiation  for  our  sins;"  and  Paul's  clear  testimony  of  him. 
self,  after  he  has  been  born  of  God,  that  a  war  is  still  going  on  in 
himself  with  sin,  and  he  is  in  fear  lest  he  fall.  There  must  be 
an  explanation,  for  the  Scriptures  as  God's  Word  must  be  con- 
sistent with  themselves. 

Does  the  explanation  lie  in  the  words 


BABES    IN    CHRIST.  45 

and  TraiSta,  (little  children)  with  which  John  so 
tenderly  addresses  them?  When  John  writes,  "Whosoever  is 
born  of  God  doth  not  commit  sin:  for  his  (God's)  seed  remain- 
eth  in  him  and  he  cannot  sin,  because  he  is  "born  of  God,"  does 
he  have  in  view  a  different  person  from  the  "little  children"  of 
God  whom  he  is  urging  to  beware  of  sin  ?  Is  John,  in  the  one 
set  of  texts,  thinking  of  "babes  in  Christ,"  born  of  God,  yet  only 
new  born  babes,  weak,  ill  established,  apt  to  stumble  and  fall, 
yet  withal  truly  born  of  God :  —  in  the  other  texts  is  he,  with 
that  prophetic  spiritual  insight  which  was  so  marked  in  John, 
looking  past  the  babe  to  the  matured  man  in  Christ,  able  to 
stand? 

What  light  do  the  other  apostolic  writers  throw  upon  this 
point?    Do  they  make  such  a   distinction? 

Paul  writes: — 

"And  I,  brethren,  could  not  speak  unto  you 

as  unto  spiritual  but  as  unto  carnal,  even  as  unto  babes  in 
Christ.  I  have  fed  you  with  milk,  and  not  with  meat:  for 
hitherto  ye  were  not  able  to  bear  it,  neither  yet  now  are  ye 
able.  For  ye  are  yet  carnal :  for  whereas  there  is  among  you 
envyings,  and  strife,  and  divisions,  are  ye  not  carnal  and  walk 
as  men?"  I.  Corinth.  III.— 1,  2,  3. 

Are  they  then  not  God's  children?      Yes:  for  Paul  goes  on, 
still  addressing  them:— 

"Know  ye  not  that  ye  are  the  temple 
of  God,  and  that  the  Spirit  of  God  dwelleth  in  you?    III.-16. 

And  of  them  he  has  just  said,  "But  of  him  are  ye  in  Christ 
Jesus."    I.  Corinth.  I.-30. 

And  more,  for  he  is  still  addressing   them:  —  "and    ye    are 
Christ's."    III.-23. 


Born  of  God— but  babes. 

Is  any  one  ever  born  otherwise? 

It  is  babes  that  are  born;  not  full  grown  men.    It  is  the  law  of 
the  natural  world  holding  good  in  the  spiritual  world.      God's 
laws  are  general,  not  special. 
Peter  writes:— 

"Wherefore,  laying  aside  all  malice,  and  all 


46  THE    WAY    OF    LIFE. 

guile,  and  hypocrisies,  and  envies,  and  all  evil  speaking,  as  new 
burn  babes,  desire  the  sincere  milk  of  the  Word  that  ye  may 
grow  thereby."  I.  Peter,  II. -1,  2. 

The  third  verse  preceding,  to  which  the  "wherefore"  refers, 
makes  the  meaning  explicit: — 

"Being  born  again,  not  of  corruptible  seed,  but  of  incor- 
ruptible, by  the  word  of  God,  which  liveth  and  abideth 
forever."  I.  Peter  L-23. 

Born  again:  born  of  God.  Is  the  battling  then  over?  No; 
only  just  again  beginning.  It  is  the  old  battle  of  Eden  over  a 
human  soul,  to  be  waged  as  never  before.  For  this  babe  in 
Christ,  this  babe  in  spiritual  things  and  spiritual  strength,  is  no 
longer  a  babe  in  mind.  He  has  eaten  of  the  fruit  of  the  tree  of 
the  knowledge  of  good  and  evil,  and  has  grown  wise  thereby, 
but  the  wisdom  brought  no  spiritual  strength  —  death  instead. 
And  now  about  this  new  born  soul  is  to  be  fought  a  battle  such 
as  the  Adam  of  the  first  innocency  never  knew:  for  it  is  now  a 
soul  with  the  mars  and  the  weaknesses  of  sin  upon  it:  the  stain 
gone,  the  guilt  pardoned,  but  the  scars  and  the  weaknesses 
remaining,  and  with  the  strength  of  a  man's  passions  upon  it. 

But  in  the  contest  will  not  the  same  result  follow  as  in 
man's  first  battle  with  sin?  Will  he  not  fall  again? 

Not  necessarily:  for  man  is  not  now  what  he  was  then.  He 
has  changed.  For,  as  just  said,  he  has  eaten  of  the  fruit  of  the 
tree  of  the  knowledge  of  good  and  evil,  and  has  grown  wise 
thereby,  and  now  he  knows  the  consequences  of  sin,  not  merely 
by  hearsay,  but  by  bitter  personal  experience.  He  bears  the 
scars  of  the  first  battle  ever  upon  him  as  a  warning  in  the  hour 
of  peril. 

"Born  of  God,"  —  "babes  in  Christ."  But  is  the  babe  to 
continue  a  babe,  with  the  "envyings  and  strife,  and  divisions" 
(I.  Corinth.  III.-3)  not  yet  freed  from  the  power  of  "malice,  and 
all  guile,  and  hypocrisies,  and  envies,  and  all  evil  speaking" 
(I.  Peter  II.-l)?  How  then  shall  he  come  to  that  point  of 
which  John  speaks  when  he  says  he  "doth  not  commit  sin."  (I. 
John  III.-9.) 

Paul,  in  the  fourth  chapter  of  Ephesians,  gives  the  explana- 
tion :— 

"I  therefore,  the  prisoner  of  the  Lord,  beseech  you  that 


BABES    IN    CHRIST.  47 

ye  walk  worthy  of  the  vocation  wherewith  ye  are  called,  with 
all  lowliness  and  meekness,  with  long-suffering,  forbearing  one 
another  in  love;  endeavoring  to  keep  the  unity  of  the  spirit  in 
the  bond  of  peace.  .  .  .  And  he  gave  some  to  be  Apostles ; 
and  some  prophets;  and  some  evangelists;  and  some  pastors 
and  teachers;  for  the  perfecting  of  the  saints,  for  the  work  of 
the  ministry,  for  the  edifying  of  the  body  of  Christ :  till  we  all 
come  in  the  unity  of  the  faith,  and  of  the  knowledge  of  the  Son  of 
God,  unto  a  perfect  man,  unto  the  measure  of  the  stature  of  the 
fullness  of  Christ :  that  we  henceforth  be  no  more  children,  tossed 
to  and  fro,  and  carried  about  with  every  wind  of  doctrine,  by  the 
sleight  of  men,  and  cunning  craftiness,  whereby  they  lie  in  wait 
to  deceive;  but  speaking  the  truth  in  love,  may  grow  up  into 
him  in  all  things,  which  is  the  head,  even  Christ:  Ephesians 
IV.-l,  3  and  11,  15. 

Turn  to  Peter  again:— 

"Wherefore,  laying  aside  all  malice, 

and  all  guile,  and  hypocrisies,  and  envies,  and  all  evil  speaking, 
as  new  born  babes  desire  the  sincere  milk  of  the  word,  that  ye 
may  grow  thereby."  I.  Peter  II.-l,  2, 


IX. 
A   CHILD   NO    LONGER. 

"Born  of  God"— "babes  in  Christ":  "A  perfect  man"— "the 
measure  of  the  stature  of  the  fullness  of  Christ." 

Between  these 

two  lies  the  whole  difference  between  the  Adam  of  Eden  who 
was  unable  to  resist  the  power  of  evil,  and  the  regenerated 
Adam  who  "doth  not  sin."  And  between  the  two  lies  whatever 
it  is  that  converts  the  "babe  in  Christ,"  "tossed  to  and  fro," 
unable  to  stand,  into  the  "perfect  man,"  who  is  able  to  stand 
fast,  and  not  fall. 

It  is  the  experience  of  those  who  have  thus 
been  born  again  to  God,  babes  in  Christ,  that  with  regenera- 
tion comes  a  season  of  rest.  The  bitterness  of  the  struggle  of 
the  soul  in  sin  is  over,  and  as  a  new  born  babe  the  soul  is  con- 
tent to  rest  as  in  the  arms  of  the  Father.  It  is  the  rest  of  one 
who  has  gone  through  a  struggle.  Yet  the  testimony  of  these 
is  also  that  this  season  of  rest  is  not  lasting.  A  new  struggle 
is  now  upon  the  soul.  The  old  struggle  to  escape  from  sin  now 
becomes  a  struggle  to  avoid  sin,  to  keep  free  from  the  power  of 
evil.  For  evil  has  not  given  up  the  battle.  And  God  does  not 
leave  man  in  ignorance  of  this.  He  forewarns  him,  that  he  may 
not  fall  into  the  danger  of  a  false  security,  and  be  taken 
unawares.  The  Scriptures  leave  man  no  excuse  for  heedlessness 
or  mistake  upon  this  point. 

It  is  one  constant  warning,  one  unceasing  cry,  The 
battle  is  now  upon  you:  "Watch  ye,  stand  fast  in  the  faith, 
quit  you  like  men,  be  strong."  I.  Corinth.  XVI.-13. 

"Be  sober,  be  vigilant;  because  your  adversary  the  devil,  as 
a  roaring  lion,  walketh  about    seeking  whom  he  may  devour 
whom  resist,  steadfast  in  the  faith."    I.  Peter  V.-8. 


A    CHILD    NO    LONGER.  49 

And  this  battling  is  not  spoken  of  as  a  thing  to  be  deplored, 
,or  mourned  over,  a  misfortune;  rather  is  it  spoken  of  as  a 
thing  to  rejoice  over:— 

"My  brethren,"  cries  James,  with  gladness  in  his  voice, 
"count  it  all  joy  when  ye  fall  into  divers  temptations, 
(7retpao"/xois,  testings):  knowing  this,  that  the  trying  of 
your  faith  worketh  patience.  But  let  patience  have  her  perfect 
work,  that  ye  may  be  perfect  and  entire,  wanting  nothing 
(ev  w&tvl  Aeoro/xevoi,  lacking  in  nothing.)  James  I.-2,  3,  4. 

Why  has  God  thus  planned  that  the  "babe  in  Christ"  shall 
come  to  the  "measure  of  the  stature  of  the  fulness  of  Christ, 
through  struggling  and  battling? 

The  question  has  a  companion 

question  side  by  side  with  it,  a  question  which  has  already  been 
briefly  considered    (Page  12.):— 

Why  did  God  first  place  man  where  he  would  be  subject  to 
spiritual  struggle  and  battling?  And  the  answer  is  the  same 
to  both,  namely,  that  some  ultimate  good  may  come  of  it  which 
could  not  be  so  well  attained  in  any  other  way— possibly  could 
only  be  attained  by  this  way.  It  brings  up  the  whole  question 
of  God's  dealings  with  man. 

Wherein,  then  is  the  man,  with  his  transgressions  pardoned, 
his  soul  regenerated,  better  off  than  man  before  his  first  trans- 
gression? If  he  is  no  better  off,  then  why  did  God  permit  him 
to  go  through  a  testing  that  is  purposeless  ?  To  assume  that 
out  of  it  all  he  emerges  no  better  off  than  before,  would  be  to 
assume  that  God  has  not  been  wise  or  kind  in  his  dealings  with 
men.  No  earthly  parent  would  so  deal  with  his  child.  Out  of 
the  testing,  the  battling,  man  must  come  a  gainer,  or  else  we 
must  assume  that  somehow  God  made  a  mistake  in  first  making 
man  subject  to  temptation,  and  that  the  whole  scheme  of 
redemption  is  simply  an  attempt  to  repair  the  wrong.  Man, 
who  in  his  first  contest  with  evil  was  vanquished,  must  come 
out  of  the  second  contest  with  a  distinct  increase  in  his  power 
of  resisting  evil,  or  else  he  has  gained  nothing  to  compensate 
him  for  the  battle.  Battles  are  not  fought  without  purpose. 
Every  battle  is  to  the  end  that  the  one  side  or  the  other  may 
gain  something. 

The  one  evident  purpose  which  can  be  seen  to  this  contest 
is,  That  man  should  no  longer  be  in  danger  of  bondage  to 


50  THE    WAY    OF    LIFE. 

sin.  John  says  that  this  man  who  is  come  "unto  the  perfect 
stature  of  the  fulness  of  Christ,"  is  therewith  to  reach  the  point 
where  "he  cannot  sin:11  where  he  is  no  longer  in  danger  of 
again  falling  under  the  power  of  evil. 

This  then  is  the  end, — that  man,  out  of  the  testing,  the 
struggle,  the  battle,  shall  come  to  a  point  spiritually  where  he 
shall  be  able  to  resist  evil,  and  stand  forever  freed  from  its 
power. 

Could  not  God  have  guarded  man  originally  against  the 
possibility  of  temptation  ? 

Unquestionably,  yes.    Did  he?    No— for 

he  made  man  a  free  agent,  and  then  placed  him  where  he  would 
be  subject  to  temptation. 

Could  not  God  in  regeneration  have  made  man  so  that  he 
could  not  sin  ? 

To  this  also  the  answer  must  be,  No.  The  law 
of  freedom  of  will,  under  which  he  made  man,  stands  between. 
Freedom  of  will  carries  with  it  now,  as  at  first,  the  power  to 
sin  if  man  wills,  and  must  carry  it  through  all  the  eternities  to 
come. 

Could  not  God  then,  in  regeneration,  have  given  to  man  the 
power  to  resist  all  evil,  given  it  at  once,  as  a  free  gift,  and  so 
have  freed  man  from  all  further  battling  ? 

Whether    he    could 

have  done  so  consistently  with  the  scheme  of  man's  soul 
growth,  as  set  forth  in  the  Scriptures,  may  be  questioned.  That 
he  did  not  do  so,  is  authoritatively  stated  by  the  Scriptures  in 
the  quotations  which  have  already  been  given.  The  final 
resistance  to  evil  under  that  scheme  must  come  from  man  him- 
self, for  he  has  freedom  of  will. 


X. 


A   TEACHER   AND   GUIDE    PROVIDED    FOR  THE 
BABE  IN    CHRIST. 


Yet  God  does  not  leave  man  without  instruction  and  guid- 
ance in  this  conflict  which  is  upon  him.  He  does  not  leave  man 
to  make  his  battle  in  ignorance  or  in  darkness.  He  gives  light 
and  teaching  that  the  way  may  be  plain. 

It  is  never  to  be  forgotten  that  Christ  himself  came  as  a 
teacher  before  he  offered  himself  up  as  the  sacrifice  for  trans- 
gression. 

The  Christ  life  and  the  Christ  teachings  are  as  much  a  part 
of  the  scheme  of  salvation  as  the  Christ  death  on  Calvary.  In 
the  dramatic  power  of  the  one,  we  are  apt  to  lose  sight  of  the 
less  dramatic,  yet  no  less  essential  power  of  the  other. 

The  blood  shed  on  Calvary  was  simply  and  solely  the  Old 
Covenant  offering  for  transgression.  There  is  no  promise,  no 
hinting  even,  that  it  is  more.  Through  it  comes  pardon  for 
transgression — no  more;  not  even  regeneration,  although  it  is  a 
prerequisite  to  regeneration.  But  how  is  this  man,  thus  pardoned 
of  his  transgression,  to  be  kept  from  sinning  again  ?  There  is 
nowhere  in  the  Scriptures  any  assurance  that  it  is  to  be  through 
the  blood  of  the  atonement.  The  very  word  atonement 
(Hebrew:  kaphar—  primitive  root,  meaning,  to  cover,  and 
derivatively  to  expiate)  excludes  the  idea. 

It  is  a  word  that  looks  backward.  The  work  that  looks 
forward,  the  keeping  from  transgression,  must  come  in  another 
way.  Yet  this  is  as  much  a  part  of  the  plan  as  the  mere  par- 
don of  the  deed  done. 

Take  the  Christ  life,  the  Christ  teaching.    It  is  a  constant 


52  THE    WAY    OF    LIFE. 

training  to  quicken  the  spiritual  understanding  of  men  that 
they  may  rightly  discern  between  good  and  evil,  and  an  unceas- 
ing warning  to  avoid  the  evil. 

We  are  too  apt  in  looking  with  devout  eyes  upon  Christ, 
the  Lamb  of  God,  to  overlook  the  Christ,  the  Teacher  of  God. 
Yet  the  whole  record  of  the  Gospels  is  instinct  with  the  thought 
of  Christ  the  Teacher.  The  very  wording  used  will  not  allow 
it  to  be  lost  sight  of.  The  Greek  word  SiSacrKaA.os,  teacher, 
(generally  translated,  but  defectively,  simply  as  Master,  yet 
originally  with  the  idea,  not  of  the  English  word  master,  but 
of  the  Vulgate  Magister,  teacher,  from  which  we  take  the  word 
in  the  King  James  translation)  is  applied  to  Christ  forty-five 
times  in  the  four  Gospels.  It  is  the  designation  commonly 
used.  It  is  made  use  of  in  addressing  him,  by  the  Scribes  and 
Pharisees,  by  the  Sadducees,  by  his  disciples,  by  seekers  after 
eternal  life,  and  is  made  use  of  by  Christ  himself  eight  times  out 
of  the  few  cases  where  he  speaks  of  himself.  The  verb  SiScurKco 
— teach — is  made  use  of  forty-nine  times  in  describing  the  char- 
acter of  his  work.  It  is  as  a  teacher  that  he  goes  about  for 
the  three  years  of  his  public  ministry. 

Teaching  what?  Exam- 
ine the  Christ  teaching.  Not  much  about  his  death;  only 
sufficient  that  men  should  remember  and  understand  when  they 
came  to  look  back:  but  much  of  the  nature  of  sin,  and  how 
to  avoid  it:  teaching  how  to  discern  between  good  and  evil, 
and  warning  to  beware  of  evil. 

The  whole  framework  of  Christian  doctrine  rests  upon  the 
words  spoken  during  those  three  short  years  by  Christ  in  his 
capacity  as  a  divine  teacher — all  the  epistles — all  the  theologies 
— all  the  books  of  devotion  and  of  creeds  of  all  the  ages. 
Christ's  work  as  a  teacher  is  the  foundation  of  it  all. 

Yet  Christ 

was  not  to  remain  upon  earth.  So  long  as  he  lived  the  sacrifice 
for  transgression  of  that  old  covenant  was  not  yet  offered  up, 
and  the  covenant  unfulfilled. 

Then,  too,  Christ,  hampered  by  the  flesh  in  the  bodily  form 
which  was  assumed  as  a  necessary  part  of  the  scheme  of  atone- 
ment, could,  as  a  teacher,  personally  reach  only  a  few  of  earth's 
millions.  How  are  they,  the  millions  yet  unborn,  to  have  eyes 
enlightened  to  discern  the  spiritual  truth  of  Christ's  teachings? 
for:— 


A  TEACHER  AND  GUIDE  PROVIDED  FOR  THE  BABE  IN  CHRIST.      53 

"The  natural  man  receiveth  not  the  things  of  the  Spirit 
of  God :  for  they  are  foolishness  unto  him :  neither  can  he 
know  them,  because  they  are  spiritually  discerned."  I.  Cor. 
II.-14. 

But  the  Christ  life  and  the  Christ  death  were  not  the  last 
step  in  God's  plan  for  man.  Christ,  who  came  as  the  true  sacri- 
fice to  complete  the  old  covenant,  and  who  came  as  teacher 
to  announce  the  possibility  and  the  way  of  the  new  birth, 
came  also  as  prophet  to  foretell  the  coming,  and  the  office, 
of  the  Holy  Spirit.  It  is  of  the  Holy  Spirit  that  Christ  says: 

"And  I  will  pray  the  Father,  and  he  shall  give  you  another 
Comforter,  that  he  may  abide  with  you  forever:  even  the 
Spirit  of  truth ;  whom  the  world  cannot  receive,  because  it 
seeth  him  not,  neither  knoweth  him:  but  ye  know  him:  for 
he  dwelleth  with  you,  and  shall  be  in  you."  John  XIV.-16,  17. 

Of  the  office  of  the  Holy  Spirit  which  is  thus  to  be  in 
the  regenerated  soul,  he  says:  — 

"But  the  Comforter, 

which  is  the  Holy  Ghost,  whom  the  Father  will  send 
in  my  name,  he  shall  teach  you  all  things,  and  bring  all  things 
to  your  remembrance  whatsoever  I  have  said  unto  you." 
John  XIV.-26. 

And  again  he  says: 

"Howbeit,    when  he,  the  Spirit  of 

truth,  is  come,  he  will  guide  you  into  all  truth ;  for  he  shall 
not  speak  of  himself  (  d<£'  eavrov,  from  himself ) ;  but 
whatsoever  he  shall  hear,  that  shall  he  speak;  and  he  will 
show  you  things  to  come."  John  XVI.-13. 

It  is  the  keeping  of  the  promise  given  in  Psalm  XXXII. 
-8,  "I  will  instruct  thee  and  teach  thee  in  the  way  which 
thou  shalt  go:  I  will  guide  thee  with  mine  eye." 


XI. 


THE    LAW    OF    GROWTH. 


In  it  all,  one  fact  we  may  reasonably  assume,  that  God 
saw  better  things  for  man,  a  more  satisfying  spiritual  man- 
hood, by  the  slower  process  of  growth,  than  by  the  direct 
and  quick  avenue  of  gift. 

Growth  is  the  universal  law  of  being  which  he  has  estab- 
lished. In  the  body  it  is  growth  from  the  child  to  the  man. 
Why  the  years  of  comparatively  helpless  waiting?  Could  not 
God  have  made  man  at  once  of  full  stature  without  this 
intervening  stage  of  growth  to  maturity?  Yes,  undoubtedly. 
But  he  did  not. 

Growth  in  mind— from  childhood,  pleased  with  a  toy, 
struggling  to  remember  his  a,  b,  c,  to  the  man  weighing  the 
planets,  and  reaching  out  to  the  farthest  star.  Why  the  years 
of  protracted  mental  toil,  the  years  of  apparent  waste  in 
school,  in  college,  the  burning  of  the  midnight  oil  ?  Could 
not  God  have  made  man  at  once  in  the  full  mental  stature 
of  the  trained  thinker?  Yes,  unquestionably.  But  he  did  not. 

If  he  did  not,  there  must  be  a  reason  for  it.  And  if  he 
did  not  for  body,  for  intellect,  are  we  to  suppose  that  the 
man  spiritual  is  an  exception  to  the  law  of  man's  being  in 
all  other  ways,  and  that  spiritual  manhood  will  be  gained  by 
a  sudden  leap  from  childhood,  the  "babe  in  Christ,"  to  that 
spiritual  manhood  where  one  stands  in  the  ''measure  of  the 
stature  of  the.  fulness  of  Christ,"  a  "perfect  man?" 

That  the  law  of  growth  is  to  hold  good  in  the  spiritual 
world  also,  is  shown  in  the  Scriptures  when  Paul  says: — 

"And  he  gave  some  to  be  apostles:  and  some  prophets: 
and  some  evangelists:  and  some  pastors  and  teachers:  for  the 
perfecting  of  the  saints,  for  the  work  of  the  ministry,  for  the 


THE    LAW    OF    GROWTH.  55 

edifying  of  the  body  of  Christ:  till  we  all  come  in  the  unity 
of  the  faith  and  of  the  knowledge  of  the  Son  of  God,  unto  a 
perfect  man,  unto  the  measure  of  the  statufe  of  the  fulness 
of  Christ:  that  we  be  no  more  children,  tossed  to  and  fro, 
and  carried  about  with  every  wind  of  doctrine,  by  the  sleight 
of  men  and  cunning  craftiness,  whereby  they  lie  in  wait  to 
deceive:  but  speaking  the  truth  in  love,  may  grow  up  into 
him  in  all  things,  which  is  the  head,  even  Christ:"  Ephesians 
IV.-ll,  15. 

Peter   also  says:— 

"Wherefore,    laying    aside    all  malice, 

and  all  guile,  and  hypocricies,  and  envies,  and  all  evil  speak- 
ings, as  new  born  babes,  desire  the  sincere  milk  of  the  word, 
that  ye  may  grow  thereby."  I.  Peter  II.-l,  2. 

This  thought  of  spiritual  growth  is  so  widely  found  in 
the  new  covenant  record  that  specific  texts  are  scarcely  neces- 
sary, however.  The  whole  record  is  instinct  with  it. 

If  God  is,  as  we  claim,  and  as  the  Scriptures  constantly 
affirm,  a  wise  and  loving  father,  there  must  be  a  good  and 
sufficient  reason  for  this  season  of  growth  which  thus  inter- 
venes between  childhood  and  maturity,  not  only  in  the  man 
physical,  and  the  man  mental,  but  also  in  the  man  spiritual. 
Test  by  the  dealings  of  an  earthly  father  with  his  child.  A 
wise  and  kind  earthly  father  only  does  for  his  child  the 
things  which  the  child  cannot  do  for  itself.  It  is  thus  that  he 
trains  the  child  to  a  man,  knowing  that  the  very  struggle  to 
do  for  itself  will  develop  a  stronger,  better  man.  An  unwise 
father  does  too  much,  and  thus  spoils  the  man  that  might 
be.  He  misses  the  struggle,  and  never  grows  to  the  true 
strength  of  manhood. 

How  does  God  deal  with  his  children  spiritually?  He  par- 
dons man's  transgression:  —  this,  man  could  not  do  for  him- 
self. He  breathes  again  into  the  soul,  that  is  dead  to  God  in 
sin,  the  breath  of  spiritual  life: — this  man  could  not  do  for 
himself.  Then  to  this  new  born  child,  this  "babe  in  Christ," 
he  sends  the  Holy  Spirit  as  teacher  and  guide,  as  school- 
master; and  now,  having  thus  done  for  man  the  things  which 
man  could  not  do  for  himself,  he  leaves  this  babe  in  Christ 
to  develop  "unto  a  perfect  man,  unto  the  measure  of  the  stature 
of  the  fulness  of  Christ,"  under  the  working  of  the  law  of 
spiritual  growth. 


56  THE    WAY    OF    LIFE. 

This  is  the  picture  the  new  covenant  record  gives  of  God's 
ways  with  man:  and  it  places  the  man  spiritual  under  the 
same  general  law  of  development  as  the  man  intellectual  and 
the  man  physical.  It  makes  God  consistent  with  himself  in 
the  working  out  of  his  laws. 

Yet  in  it  all  God  does  not  remain  passive.  He  has  not, 
as  a  stern,  hard  father,  said  to  this  son,  "My  son,  I  have 
given  you  life,  I  have  started  you  upon  the  way  of  spiritual 
growth;  now  you  must  take  care  of  yourself.  After  the  years 
you  may  come  back  and  tell  me  how  it  has  fared  with  you." 
Not  this;  for  "Like  as  a  father  pitieth  his  children,  so  the 
Lord  pitieth  them  that  fear  him.  For  he  knoweth  our  frame: 
he  remembereth  that  we  are  dust."  Psalm  CHI.— 13,  14. 

As  a  wisely  kind  father  he  says,  "My  son,  the  conflict  of 
spiritual  life  is  before  you.  It  is  better  for  you  that  you  should 
battle  and  grow  strong.  Yet  I  am  always  with  you.  My 
love  is  ever  about  you.  In  the  hour"  of  weakness  I  will  give 
help:"— 

"He  shall  call  upon  me  and  I  will  answer  him:  I 
will  be  with  him  in  trouble:  I  will  deliver  him  and  honor  him." 
Psalm  XCI.-15. 

"And  it  shall  come  to  pass,  that  before  they  call,  I  will 
answer:  and  while  they  are  yet  speaking,  I  will  hear,"  Isaiah 
LXV.-24. 

"The  eternal  God  is  thy  refuge,  and  underneath  are  the 
everlasting  arms."  Deut.  XXXIII.-27. 

But  would  it  be  a  wise  God,  a  kind  God,  that  would  take 
the  burdens  away  from  man  in  his  spiritual  struggle  even 
though  man  should  ask  it?  It  certainly  would  not  be  a  wise, 
or  a  kind  earthly  father  who  would  do  this  for  his  child  in 
worldly  matters.  He  would  reply,  "My  child,  I  will  help  you 
when  your  strength  gives  out;  but  bear  the  burden;  it  is  better 
for  you.  I  could  easily  lift  it:  but  it  is  for  your  good  that  I 
do  not." 

"For  this  thing,  says  Paul,  "I  besought  the  Lord  thrice 
that  it  might  depart  from  me." 

What  was  God's  answer? 

I        "And  he  said  unto  me,  My  grace 
is  sufficient  for  thee."    II.  Corinth.  XII.-8,  9. 

And  Paul,  old, 


THE    LAW    OF    GROWTH. 

waiting,  as  he  looks  back  over  the  years  of  the  thorn  in  the 
flesh,  of  toiling,  and  battling,  and  enduring,  cries  out  in  a 
mighty  gladness: — 

"I    have   fought    a    good    fight;    I    have 

finished  my  course ;  I  have  kept  the  faith :  henceforth  there  is 
laid  up  for  me  a  crown  of  righteousness  which  the  Lord,  the 
righteous  judge,  shall  give  me  at  that  day:"  II.  Timothy  IV.- 
7,  8. 

Would  Paul,  that  day  in  the  Roman  prison,  old,  broken 
with  the  burden,  but  with  the  crown  in  sight— would  he,  as  he 
looks  backward  with  the  deeper  wisdom  of  the  years:  would  he 
now  have  had  the  prayer  answered  ?  or  would  he  choose 
rather  the  pain  and  the  grace? 


XII. 
THE  THINGS  THAT  ABIDE, 


Man  has  learned  some  things  in,  and  through,  the  long  bat- 
tle with  evil. 

He  has  learned  to  be  less  confident  in  his  own  judgment, 
and  to  be  more  willing  to  accept  God's  guidance, 

He  has  learned  the  danger  of  looking  away  from  God,  the 
peril  that  comes  from  questioning  God's  word.  When  that  day 
the  tempter  said,  "In  the  day  thou  eatest  thereof  thou  shalt  not 
surely  die,"  man  had  God's  word,  "In  the  day  thou  eatest  thereof 
thou  shalt  surely  die."  Man  doubted  God;  and — found  death. 

He  has  learned  when  tempted  to  diverge  from  the  plain 
pathway  of  God's  laws  to  a  by-way,  however  pleasant  it  may 
appear,  and  however  free  from  apparent  harm,  however  to  be 
desired  to  make  one  wise  even— he  has  learned  that,  THIS  WAY 

DANGER   LIES. 

He  has  learned  to  ask  God  in  the  hour  of  doubt:  and  to 
believe  God. 

Yet  this  implies  that  man,  this  man  born  again,  and 
grown  "unto  the  measure  of  the  stature  of  the  fulness  of  Christ, 
a  perfect  man,"  may  yet  sin.  How.  then,  are  we  to  understand 
John  when  he  says  that  the  soul  born  of  God  "cannot  sin"?  We 
can  only  understand  it  in  the  sense,  not  of  a  power  taken 
away,  but  of  a"  power  which  the  soul  refuses  to  exercise.  There 
is  no  hint  in  all  the  Scriptures  that  freedom  of  will  is  ever  taken 
from  man,  and  freedom  of  will  carries  with  it,  by  its  very 
nature,  the  power  to  sin,  if  one  wills. 

To    deprive    man     of 

freedom  of  will  would  be  a  confession  upon  God's  part  that   he 
had  made  a  mistake  in  first  endowing  man  with  it.     Indeed,  it 


THINGS    THAT    ABIDE.  59 

may  even  be  questioned  whether  God  did  not  put  the  possibility 
of  recalling  it  out  of  his  own  power  under  the  law  wherein  he 
made  man. 

We  can  only  understand  that  man  still  uses  his  freedom  of 
will,  but  now  with  an  enlightened  understanding  and  the  fruits 
of  experience  to  help  him;  and  now  he  wills  not  to  sin. 

The  power  of  an  enlightened  conscience,  with  God  helping 
him  (helping  at  man's  request — God  cannot,  consistently  with 
man's  freedom  of  will,  help  otherwise)  will  not  now  let  him  fall 
into  sin.  This  man,  made  perfect,  even  as  God  is  perfect, 
(Matth.  V.-48)  cannot  sin,  even  as  God  cannot  sin,  because  his 
whole  understanding  now  comprehends  it,  and  his  whole  nature 
now  abhors  it.  In  this  sense,  and  in  this  sense  only,  may  the 
words  of  John,  "cannot  sin"  be  understood. 

One  thing  more  man  has  learned.  He  has  learned  to  know 
the  great,  kind,  loving,  wise  heart  of  the  Father  as  the  child- 
man  never  could  haye  known  him.  And  he  has  learned  to  lore 
the  Father  with  the  love  of  a  man.  The  love  of  the  child  is 
sweet  and  tender,  but  what  is  it  to  the  strong,  abiding  love  of 
the  man,  with  'his  whole  nature  deepened,  and  heart  made  ten- 
der, by  the  years  of  toil  and  struggle,  and  mellowed  by  the 
harrowing  of  pain.  This  man,  grown  of  the  years  of  battling 
with  evil,  is  a  man  such  as  the  heart  of  the  child  could  not 
have  even  conceived  of:  the  God  he  has  learned  to  know  and 
to  love,  a  God  such  as  the  child-man  never  could  have  compre- 
hended. This  strong  man  has  learned  God's  patient  love.  With 
eyes  made  wise  through  suffering  he  has  seen  into  the  depths  of 
the  Father's  heart. 


XIII. 
WALKING  AGAIN   WITH    GOD. 


Walking  again  with  God.  No  longer  the  Adam  of  the  Gar- 
den, a  child  with  the  years  before  him,  simple  hearted,  never 
having  known  evil,  but  man  who  has  known  the  sting  of  sin; 
man  with  the  years  behind  him:  man,  no  longer  proud,  defiant, 
but  with  eyes  that  have  blinded  to  the  bitterness  of  tears,  and 
with  a  chastened,  humble  heart.  He  has  eaten  of  the  fruit  of 
the  tree  of  the  knowledge  of  good  and  evil. 

Was  it  all  a  mistake — that  placing  of  man  where  temptation 
might  come?  and  has  God  through  all  the  weary  ages  been  only 
trying  to  repair  the  wrong,  to  correct  the  error? 

I  cannot  think  so.  I  do  not  understand,  I  may  never 
understand,  the  mystery  of  it  all;  yet  this,  it  seems  to  me,  I 
see:— That  through  it  has  been  made  possible  a  nobler,  grander 
man  than  he  who  that  day  walked  in  the  Garden,  ignorant  of 
evil:  that  out  of  the  trial,  the  testing,  has  come  strength;  for 
temptation  is  testing:  and  that  through  the  ceaseless  roll  of  the 
eternities  the  man  whom  God  has  made,  the  man  whom  he  suf- 
fered to  be  tested,  the  man  who  has  gone  down  into  the  Valley 
of  the  Shadow,  this  man  with  whom  God  walked  the  weary 
by-ways  of  earth,  sharing  the  burden  that  he  might  win  him 
back;  crying,  O  my  son,  I  will  dieforthee! — this  man  will  know 
the  great  loving  heart  of  the  Father,  as  the  Adam  of  the  Garden 
never  could:  this  man,  with  heart  that  has  vibrated  to  the 
quiver  of  pain,  can  love  God  with  a  love  such  as  the  child 
heart  of  Adam  never  could  have  known,  for  love  has  won  him 
back.  And  this  man  with  the  scars  of  the  battling  with  sin 
upon  him,  has,  of  his  own  free  will,  come  back  to  God.  In  this 
fact  lies  the  vindication  of  God's  ways  with  man. 


WALKING    AGAIN    WITH    GOD.  61 

Possibly  the  greatest,  the  noblest  act  of  God  is,  not  the  cre- 
ation of  the  Universe,  not  the  giving  of  life  to  the  angelic  hosts, 
but  the  making  of  a  free-willed  creature  that  may  defy  him: 
and  then  making  that  creature  an  independent  judge, 
to  pass  judgment  upon  the  works  of  his  Maker.  Of  the  days  of 
creation  it  is  written  that  as  God  looked  upon  his  own  work  he 
said,  "It  is  good."  But  who  else  is  to  pass  judgment  upon 
God's  works  and  ways?  To  man,  the  man  whom  God  has 
made,  he  gives  to  pass  judgment.  And  man,  after  tasting  of 
good  and  evil,  turns  back  from  his  evil  ways  to  God  again,  say- 
ing, "I  have  seen  God's  works,  I  have  tested  his  ways,  I  have 
tried  his  judgments,  and  lo,  they  are  altogether  right  and  good." 

And  will  man  at  last  stand?  Yes,  for  he  has  tasted  of  the 
fruitage  of  the  tree  of  the  knowledge  of  good  and  evil,  and  of 
his  own  free  will  he  has  turned  back  from  evil  and  chosen 
good.  It  is  not  only  the  vindication  of  God's  ways  with  man 
but  it  is  the  vindication  also  of  free  will.  Man  has  learned  to 
know  good  and  evil:  has  learned  to  know  through  all  the  long 
ages  of  misery  and  pain.  The  mystery  of  sin  is  a  mystery  to 
him  no  more.  The  mystery  was  death.  He  has  passed  through 
the  valley  of  the  shadow.  He  will  not  trayel  that  road  again. 
For,  wise  in  the  wisdom  gained  of  the  bitter  fruit,  he  has  made 
his  choice,  and  WILLS  NOT  TO  SIN. 


But  do  all  men,  do  even  most  men,  clearly  see,  and  under- 
standingly  follow,  the  successive  steps  of  this  pathway  back  to 
God?  No:  nor  have  we  reason  to  suppose  it  is  essential  that 
they  should.  Men  are  little  skilled  to  analyze  and  give  name  to 
their  own  spiritual  processes.  They  only  know  that  somehow 
they  grew  sorry  for  the  wrong  in  their  lives:  that  a  great  hun- 
gering came  to  be  at  peace  with  God,  and  they  resolved  to  lead 
a  new  life.  And  then,  as  a  cry  went  up  from  their  hearts  to 
God  for  help,  and  they  bowed  to  his  will,  peace  came  to  their 
souls,  and  the  burden  was  gone.  And  as  the  years  have  gone 
by,  in  the  midst  of  testing  and  battling,  they  have  been  kept, 
and  have  grown  near  to  God. 

And  then,  men  start  from  such 
different  standpoints.     One,  like  Saul,  "breathing  out  threaten- 


62  THE    WAY    OF    LIFE. 

ings  and  slaughter,"  is  stricken  down  by  the  power  of  God  in  a 
moment,  and  through  all  the  years  is  able  to  point  back  to  the 
hour,  and  the  milestone  on  the  Damascus  road,  where  his  whole 
ife  was  changed. 

Another  only  knows  that  an  agony  came  upon  his  soul  until 
he  beat  upon  his  breast  and  cried,  "God  be  merciful  to  me  a 
sinner;"  and  somehow  the  load  was  gone,  and  he  went  to  his 
house  justified. 

Another  is  like  Timothy,  of  whom  Paul  says,  "When  I  call 
to  remembrance  the  unfeigned  faith  that  is  in  thee,  which  dwelt 
first  in  thy  grandmother  Lois,  and  thy  mother  Eunice;  and  I  am 
persuaded  in  thee  also."  (II.  Timothy  I.-5.)  And  this  one  born 
and  reared  in  the  household  of  faith,  trained  in  right  ways  from 
his  mother's  knee,  hardly  knows  what  it  is  ever  to  have  been 
other  than  a  child  of  God. 

Yet  Saul  of  the  Damascus  road,  and  the  poor  publican  from 
without  the  temple  gate,  and  Timothy  from  his  mother's  knee, 
shall  together  stand  before  the  throne,  and,  in  a  gladness  that 
is  deeper  than  speech,  their  hearts  shall  say,  "Master,  by  ways 
that  we  knew  not  of,  thou  didst  lead  us." 

BLESS    THE    LORD,    O    MY    SOUL 


HOLINESS  UNTO  THE  LORD. 


"Wherefore  girding  up  the  loins  of  your  mind,  be  sober,  and 
set  your  hope  perfectly  on  the  grace  that  is  to  be  brought  unto 
you  at  the  revelation  of  Jesus  Christ:  as  children  of  obedience, 
not  fashioning  yourselves  according  to  your  tormer  lusts  in  the 
time  of  your  ignorance:  but  like  as  he  which  called  you  is  holy, 
be  ye  yourselves  also  holy  in  all  manner  of  living:  because  it  is 
written,  Ye  shall  be  holy:  for  I  am  holy."  I.  Peter  L-13,  16. 


In  order  to  avoid  too  much  repetition  some  things  are 
omitted  in  the  essay  upon  Holiness  unto  the  Lord  which  are 
given  in  the  previous  essay  on  The  Way  of  Life,  The  essay 
upon  The  Way  of  Life  gives  the  broad  outlines:  the  essay  upon 
Holiness  unto  the  Lord  takes  up  more  in  detail  what  is  a 
special  feature  of  the  other.  To  a  full  understanding  of  the 
thought  of  each,  they'should  be  read  in  the  order  in  which  they 
are  given,  namely, 

I.— The  Way  of  Life. 

II. — Holiness  unto  the  Lord. 


I. 

THE  BORDER  LAND. 

Between  the  soul  "born  again,"  yet  a  "babe  in  Christ," 
still  in  the  ignorance  and  weakness  of  spiritual  infancy,  with 
the  testings,  the  trials,  the  falling  into  sin  and  the  repenting 
again,  as  described  by  Paul  and  .  other  New  Testament 
writers,  still  before  it,— between  this  babe  in  Christ  and  the 
"perfect  man"  come  "unto  the  measure  of  the  stature  Df  the 
fulness  of  Christ,  (Ephesians  IV.-13),who  "cannot  sin"  (I.John 
III.— 9),  lies  a  border  land.  In  the  man  physical,  the  man  men- 
tal, the  corresponding  stage  is  the  interval  of  youth,  where- 
in comes  growth,  the  growth  which  transforms  the  weakling 
infant  into  the  man,  strong,  able  to  stand.  This  transition 
period  between  spiritual  infancy  and  spiritual  manhood  has 
been  the  source  of  much  difference  of  opinion  and  discussion 
The  controversies  have  pivoted  around  the  words,  Holiness, 
Sanctification,  Christian  Perfection,  the  Higher  Life.  The  gist 
of  the  controversy  may  be  summed  up  in  the  question,  "How 
does  the  "babe  in  Christ"  attain  to  spiritual  manhood?"  The 
views  advanced  in  the  discussions  have  been  so  divergent  that  it 
is  difficult  to  see  how  they  can  all  be  legitimately  based  upon 
the  Scriptures;  for  the  way  must  be  a  plain,  simple  way,  which 
the  most  ignorant,  or  unlearned  person  may  readily,  understand 
When  the  Scripture  says  of  God,  "just  and  righ 
is  he,"  (Deut.  XXXII.-4),  and  when  God  calls  him 
self  "a  just  God  and  a  Savior"  (Isaiah  XLV.-21),  thi 
condition  of  utter  plainness  and  simplicity  as  essential  to  an  y 
plan  of  salvation  becomes  imperative.  To  hold  a  soul  morally 
responsible  for  conditions  beyond  its  comprehension,  would  not 
be  just.  1  have  often  been  struck  with  this  thought  as  I  have 
watched  the  puzzled,  anxious,  discouraged  faces  of  earnest 


68  HOLINESS  UNTO  THE  LORD. 

seekers,  as  they  have  vainly  tried  to  comprehend  some  abstruse, 
mystical  exposition  of  some  doctrine  which  yet  was  insisted 
upon  as  an  absolute  condition  of  salvation. 

Isaiah  recognized  the  obligation  that  the  way  must  be  plain 
and  easily  understood,  when  he  said: — • 

"And    an    highway 

shall  be  there,  and  a  way,  and  it  shall  be  called  the  way  of 
holiness:  the  unclean  shall  not  pass  over  it;  but  it  shall  be  for 
those:  the  -wayfaring  men,  though  fools,  shall  not  err  therein." 
Isaiah  XXXV.— 8. 

Does  this  difference  of  opinion  come  from  a  failure  to  search 
the  whole  Scriptures  in  the  investigation? 

The    question    is    a 

natural  one,  for  surely  God's  word,  which  is  to  be  the  guide 
of  men  from  death  unto  life,  must,  in  fairness  to  seeking  souls, 
be  clear  and  plain.  If  "Thy  word  is  a  lamp  unto  my  path," 
(Psalm  CXIX.-105)  surely  it  is  not  unfair  to  expect  it  to  shine 
with  a  clearness  which  shall  not  lead  men  astray. 

The  object  of  this  essay  is  to  inquire  more  fully  than  was 
done  in  the  essay,  THE  WAY  OF  LIFE,  what  the  Scriptures  teach 
upon  this  question,  namely,  How  does  the  "Babe  in  Christ," 
weak,  easily  falling  into  sin,  come  "unto  the  measure  of  the 
stature  of  the  fulness  of  Christ,"  the  "perfect  man"  who  "can- 
not sin;"  for  there  can  be  no  better  definition  of  "Holiness  unto 
the  Lord,"  than  the  New  Covenant  words  just  quoted. 


Some  precautions  to  be  observed  in  the  search. 

1. — To  discriminate  carefully  between  human  and  divine 
authority.  Whatever  devout  men  may  think,  their  opinion, 
unless  based  upon  absolute  Scriptural  authority,  cannot  be 
taken  into  account.  "Thus  saith  the  Lord,"  must  be  the  only 
proper  authority  and  foundation,  and  this  must  be  final. 

2. — Claims  to  special  revelations,  or  enlightenment  by  the 
Spirit,  cannot  be  accepted  as  authority,  because  we  have  no 
commonly  recognised  means  of  testing  such  claims,  to  know 
whether  they  be  more  than  the  fancy  of  the  one  making  them. 
The  one  common  and  recognized  authority  among  Christians  is 
the  "Thus  saith  the  Lord,"  of  the  revealed  word,  as  found  in 
the  Holy  Scriptures.  This  is  the  sole  court  of  appeal.  We  have 
no  other. 


THE    BORDER    LAND.  69 

3. — In  searching  the  Scriptures  themselves,  care  must  be 
taken,  in  all  cases  of  dispute  or  doubt,  to  make  sure  of  the 
exact  meaning  of  the  ®riginal  tongue.  Our  versions  of  the  Old 
Testament  Hebrew,  and  the  New  Testament  Greek,  especially 
the  King  James  translation,  are  not  always  strictly  accurate  in 
the  shading  of  meaning. 

4.— The  Scriptures  can  only  in  fairness  be  taken  in  their 
plain,  direct  meaning.  The  moment  we  begin  to  read  into  the 
word  mystical  and  special  meanings  there  remains  no  common 
ground  for  discussion,  and  a  door  has  been  opened  into  a 
region  ol  shadowy  uncertainty  and  great  possible  error. 

5.— Texts  must  not  be  wrested  from  their  natural  surround- 
ings, but  must  be  taken  with  the  context,  which  is  often  abso- 
lutely essential  to  a  proper  understanding  of  their  true  mean- 
ing, and  to  a  due  estimate  of  their  relative  importance,  and 
will  often  serve  to  correct  erroneous,  because  hastily  drawn, 
conclusions. 

6. — Caution  must  be  had  with  regard  to  basing  important 
doctrines  upon  a  single  text,  and  especially  if  this  text,  when 
taken  alone,  and  in  the  manner  in  which  it  is  used,  shows  any 
conflict  with  other  portions  of  the  Scriptures,  or  any  lack  of 
harmony  with  the  general  scope  and  tenor  of  the  Scriptures  as 
a  whole. 

7 — In  all  statements  and  discussions,  words  must  be  used 
in  their  commonly  accepted  dictionary  meaning,  as  they  would 
be  used  in  a  court  of  law.  And  a  word  once  used  in  a  certain 
sense  must  continue  to  be  used  in  exactly  the  same  sense  when- 
ever employed.  Failure  to  observe  this  simple  precaution  lies 
back  of  much  of  the  theological  disputation  of  the  world . 


What  is  the  specific  question  under  consideration  in  this 
essay  ? 

It  is  this:— What  is  the  character,  and  time,  and  man- 
ner of  action,  of  the  change  which  comes  to  man  spiritually 
between  regeneration  (born  again),  and  the  one  who  has  reached 
the  point  described  by  John  in  the  words,  "he  cannot  sin"? 

We  have  here  two  distinct,  sharply  defined,  fixed  points;  one, 
the  beginning  of  the  Christian  experience;  the  other,  its 
culmination.  They  represent  the  extremes  of  the  Christian  life. 
They  are  far  apart.  Between  them  lie  great  and  important 


70  HOLINESS   UNTO  THE  LORD. 

changes.  There  is  a  long  journey  to  be  passed  over  before  a 
soul  starting  from  the  one,  has  reached  the  other.  And  as  they 
are  the  beginning  and  the  end,  any  other  work  must  lie  some- 
where between,  and  must,  in  the  very  nature  of  the  case,  be 
preliminary  to  that  stage  wherein  one  "cannot  sin." 


II. 


THE    OLD    COVENANT    RECORD,    AND    ITS 

TEACHINGS  UPON  THE  SUBJECT  OF 

HOLINESS  UNTO   THE   LORD. 


What  light  does  the  Scripture  record  of  the  Old  Covenant 
throw  upon  this  subject?  Not  what  may  be  read  into  the 
record;  but  what  does  the  record  contain?  Not,  how  may 
words  be  twisted  or  forced  beyond  their  legitimate  meaning;  or 
what  meaning  may  be  injected  into  them  when  severed  from  the 
context;  but  what  meaning  do  the  words  fairly  and  legitimately 
bear.  And  it  should  be  born  in  mind  that  no  greater  harm  can 
come  to  a  cause  than  through  claiming  too  much,  or  through 
trying  to  force  proof  and  support  for  a  doctrine  where  the  rec- 
ord will  not  fairly  justify  it. 

Two    lines    of  investigation  are 

requisite  to  settle  the  question— specific  words  or  texts— the  gen- 
eral scope  and  spirit  of  the  record. 

1.— Specific  words  or  texts. 

Much  stress  has  been  placed,  in 

discussions  upon  this  topic,  upon  the  words  sanctify,  holi- 
ness, purify,  cleanse,  as  found  so  frequently  occuring  in  the  Old 
Covenant  record.  We  are  not  justified,  however,  in  at  once 
assuming  that  these  words,  as  made  use  of  in  that  record,  are 
necessarily  always,  or  even  generally,  used  in  the  specific  spirit- 
ual sense  in  which  they  are  used  in  the  so-called  holiness  discus- 
sions, that  is,  as  descriptive  ol  a  second  work  of  spiritual 
change  in  the  human  heart. 

The  verb  sanctify  (sanctus  facio,  to  make  holy;  Hebrew: 
qadash,  primary  meaning,  to  cleanse)  with  its  derivatives,  is 
made  use  of  110  times  in  the  Old  Covenant  record.  It  is  used 


72  HOLINESS   UNTO  THE   LORD. 

of  times,  of  places,  of  buildings,  of  fields,  of  utensils,  in  the  sense 
of  set  apart,  dedicate,  cleanse;  it  is  used  of  men  in  the  sense  of 
bodily  cleansing:  it  is  used  of  God  in  the  sense  of  hallow. 
After  careful  examination  of  these  texts  in  detail,  it  seems 
doubtful  whether  other  than  a  forced  construction  could  in  any 
case  hold  the  words  as  descriptive  of  a  further  work  of  grace 
in  the  human  heart.  The  noun  sanctification  does  not  occur 
in  the  Old  Covenant  record. 

The  word  holy,  with  its  derivative,  holiness,  occurs  451 
times  in  the  Old  Testament.  In  all  but  four  cases  the  Hebrew 
word  is  built  up  from  the  same  primitive  root  as  the  qadash  of 
sanctify.  In  the  four  exceptions  the  word  used  is  the  Chaldaeic 
chaciyd,  pious,  godly.  In  few  of  the  451  cases  also  can  any  fair 
use  of  the  text  be  made  to  indicate  a  further  work  of  grace  in 
the  heart.  But  again  we  find  the  texts  applying  to  times, 
places,  things,  Israel  as  a  people  —  rather  than  to  individual 
work  or  change. 

The  word  cleanse,  with  its  derivatives,  occurs  183  times, 
ten  different  Hebrew  words,  some  of  them  derivatives  from  a 
common  root,  being  thus  translated. 

These  words  also  are  used  of  places,  of  things,  of  the  people 
at  large,  as  a  work  done  through  the  sacrifices  for  actual  trans- 
gression: only  inferentially,  and  in  a  few  places,  as  in  the  Psalms 
of  David,  are  they  made  use  of  as  descriptive  of  a  heart  work, 
e.  g.,  Psalms  LI.-10  and  LXXIIL— 1,  and  notably  also  in 
Ezekiel  XXXVI.-25,  29. 

The  word  purify,  with  its  derivatives,  occurs  116  times  in 
that  record.  Eleven  different  Hebrew  words,  some  of  them 
allied,  are  thus  translated.  These  words  also  are  used  almost 
exclusively  of  things;  or  when  of  persons,  in  the  sense  of  freeing 
from  transgression.  In  Psalm  XXIV.-4,  the  word  pure  is  used 
of  the  heart,  apparently  as  the  Greek  Ko.Qa.poi  is  employed  in 
Matthew  V.-8,  in  the  sense  of  cleansed. 

These  tests  of  single  words  show  that  a  word  taken  alone 
is  not  a  safe  or  sufficient  foundation  upon  which  to  base  a 
Scriptural  doctrine:  on  the  contrary,  is  a  most  insufficient  and 
unsafe  basis.  They  show  the  necessity  for  a  careful  weighing  of 
the  context  in  all  cases. 

Is  there  then  to  be  found  in  the  Old  Covenant  record  any 
reasonable  basis,  for  the  doctrine  of  a  work  in  the  human  soul 


THE   OLD   COVENANT  RECORD   UPON  THE  SUBJECT.  73 

whereby  it  shall  be  freed  from  the  power  of  evil,  not  simply 
the  transgression  pardoned,  the  soul  born  again  into  spiritual 
life,  but,  over  and  beyond  this,  an  ability  to  stand,  the  power 
of  evil  permanently  broken? 

To  this  the  answer  must  be,  Yes. 

An  answer  based  not  so  much  upon  specific  words  or  texts,  as 
upon  the  general  scope  and  spirit  of  the  record.  It  must  be  felt 
rather  than  seen,  for  that  whole  covenant  is  incomplete  and  only 
prophetic,  often  only  dimly  prophetic,  of  better  things  to  come. 
Take  the  LI.  Psalm,  the  cry  of  David's  heart  after  an  awful 
backsliding.  It  is  the  despairing  cry  of  a  human  heart,  not 
simply  for  pardon  for  transgression,  but  for  emancipation  from 
the  power  of  evil.  It  is  such  a  cry  as  comes  from  one  in  the 
relentless  grip  of  the  undertow.  Analyze  the  Psalm.  It  con- 
tains:— 

A  recognition  of  actual  transgression: — "I  acknowledge  my 
transgressions." 

Conviction:— "My  sin  is  ever  before  me." 
Confession    to    God:  — "Against    thee,    thee    only,    have    I 
sinned,  and  done  this  evil  in  thy  sight." 

A  plea  for  pardon: — "Cleanse  me  from  my  sin." 
But  there  is  more:  —     A    recognition    of  evil    back    of,  and 
deeper  seated  than   personal  transgression,  the  evil   of  a  heart 
prone  to  transgression  with  a  proneness  which  comes  of  hered- 
ity:- 

"Behold  I  was  shapen  in  iniquity;  and  in  sin  did  my  mother 
conceive  me." 

A  recognition  also  of  the  fact  that  God  requires  the  chang- 
ing of  this  evil  nature:  —  "Behold  thou  desirest  truth  in  the 
inward  parts." 

A  cry  for  this  inner  change,  and  a  deeper  work  of  grace: — 
"Create  in   me    a    clean   heart,   O  God,   and  renew  a   right 
spirit  within  me." 

A  recognition  of  the  need  of  something  more  than  the  sacri- 
fice of  blood  in  order  to  the  doing  of  this  work  :  —  "For  thou 
desirest  not  sacrifice,  else  would  I  give  it :  thou  delightest 
not  in  burnt  offering.  The  sacrifices  of  God  are  a  broken  spirit: 
a  broken  and  a  contrite  heart,  O  God,  thou  wilt  not  despise." 

A  recognition  of  God's  ability  to  thus  radically  cleanse  the 
heart: — "Wash  (thou)  me,  and  I  shall  be  whiter  than  snow." 
Is   it   conceivable   that  God  has  provided  no  relief  for  this 


74  HOLINESS  UNTO  THE  LORD. 

longing  of  the  human  heart  to  be  freed  from  the  power  of  evil? 
and  must  the  cry  go  unanswered? 

Ezekiel    seems    clearly    to 

point  to  an  answer  to  the  cry,  and  to  show  that  there  is  a  way 
to  be  provided,  whereby  the  power  of  evil  over  a  human  soul 
shall  be  permanently  broken,  when,  as  spokesman  of  the  Lord, 
he  gives  utterance  to  the  divine  message: — 

"Then  will  I  sprinkle 

clean  water  upon  you,  and  ye  shall  be  clean:  from  all  your 
filthiness,  and  from  all  your  idols,  will  I  cleanse  you." 

But  there  is  more:— 

"A    new   heart    also    will    I  give  you, 

and  a  new  spirit  will  I  put  within  you:  and  I  will  take  away 
the  stony  heart  out  of  your  flesh,  and  I  will  put  my  spirit 
within  you,  and  cause  you  to  walk  in  my  statutes,  and  ye  shall 
keep  my  judgments,  and  do  them."  Ezekiel  XXXVI.-25,  27. 

Isaiah  has  a  vision  of  the  coming  of  a  time  when  this  shall 
no  longer  be  only  dimly  seen,  as  afar  off,  a  thing  which  men 
shall  grasp  only  by  faith,  but  as  a  present,  glorious  possibility. 
As  the  spirit  of  prophecy  rests  upon  him  he  looks  across  the 
ages,  and  cries: — 

"And  a  highway  shall  be  there,  and  a  way, 
and  it  shall  be  called  The  way  of  holiness:  the  unclean  shall  not 
pass  over  it:  but  it  shall  be  for  those  (see  verses  3  to  6):  the 
wayfaring  men,  though  fools,  shall  not  err  therein.  No  lion 
shall  be  there,  nor  any  ravenous  beast  shall  go  up  thereon,  it 
shall  not  be  found  there:  but  the  redeemed  shall  walk  there. 
And  the  ransomed  of  the  Lord  shall  return,  and  come  to  Zion 
with  songs  and  everlasting  joy  upon  their  heads:  they  shall 
obtain  joy  and  gladness,  and  sorrow  and  sighing  shall  flee 
away."  Isaiah  XXXV.-8,  10. 

What  do  these  words  of  Isaiah  mean?  Take  the  context. 
It  may  help  to  give  answer  to  the  inquiry.  The  whole  chapter 
is  injected  into  the  general  subject  of  Isaiah's  discourse  as  a  sep- 
arate and  distinct  matter. 

The  prophet  has  been  denouncing  man's  uncleanness,  and 
God's  wrath  thereon,  and  the  coming  woes,  when  suddenly,  as 
one  who,  walking  the  desert  alone,  has  a  vision  of  a  far-off 
oasis  with  its  restful  palms,  he  pauses  and  tells  of  the  vision. 
The  concensus  of  opinions  is  that  it  refers  to  the  coming  of 
Christ's  Kingdom.  It  is  a  prophecy  apparently  of  something 


THE  OLD  COVENANT  RECORD  UPON  THE  SUBJECT.  75 

better  yet  in  store  for  man.      In  the  thought  of  what  it  is  to 
be  to  men  he  cries:  — 

"Strengthen  ye  the  weak  hands,  and  confirm 
the  feeble  knees.  Say  to  them  that  are  of  a  fearful  heart,  Be 
strong,  fear  not." 

Why?      Because  your  God  "will  come  and  save  you." 

Then  what?  —  "Then  the  eyes  of  the  blind  shall  be  opened, 
and  the  ears  of  the  deaf  shall  be  unstopped:  then  shall  the  lame 
man  leap  as  an  hart,  and  the  tongue  of  the  dumb  sing:  for  in 
the  wilderness  shall  waters  break  out,  and  streams  in  the  des- 
ert." Why?  It  is  because  of  that  "Way  of  Holiness." 

And  how  about  the  feeble  and  fearful  ?  The  answer  is  in 
verse  10:— 

"And  the  ransomed  of  the  Lord  shall  return,  and 
come  to  Zion  with  songs,  and  everlasting  joy  upon  their  heads: 
and  they  shall  obtain  joy  and  gladness,  and  sorrow  and  sigh- 
ing shall  flee  away." 

"The  whole  chapter  is  apparently  a  pro- 
phecy to  God's  people  of  the  coming  of  something  better  than 
they  have  yet  found,  and  the  fulfillment  lies  along  the  way  of 
Holiness  unto  the  Lord,  a  holiness  beyond  such  as  they  had 
found  under  the  blood  sacrifice  for  transgression. 

Back  of  the  imagery  is  seen  the  coming  of  a  time  when  the 
redeemed  shall  walk  safely,  emancipated  from  the  power  of 
evil.  "No  lion  shall  be  there" — that  lion  of  which  Peter  sounds 
the  warning: — 

"Be  sober,  be  vigilant:  because  your  adversary 
the  devil,  as  a  roaring  lion,  walketh  about,  seeking  whom  he 
may  devour."  I.  Peter  V.-8. 

It  is  thus  to  the  general  scope  and  spirit  of  the  whole  of 
the  Old  Covenant  record  that  we  must  look,  rather  than  to 
isolated  words  or  specific  passages:  for  we  must  remember  that 
that  record  is  largely  only  a  hinting  and  a  prophecy  of  the  deep 
things  of  God  which  were  to  be  made  plain  in  the  clearer  light 
of  the  New  Covenant. 

And  I  doubt  whether  any  one  can  carefully  and  prayerfully 
study  that  old  record  without  discerning  therein  the  spirit  of 
prophetic  longing,  and  the  growing  assurance  of  a  deeper  work 
in  the  human  soul  than  conies  of  the  pardon  of  transgression 
alone.  It  is  the  bird  song  in  the  night  darkness  that  tells  of 
the  coming  of  the  morning.  It  takes  this  note  of  hope  which 


76  HOLINESS  UNTO  THE  LORD. 

ever  runs  in  and  through  the  writing,  to  relieve  what  would 
otherwise  be  the  gloom  of  an  unutterable  sadness  resting  upon 
that  Old  Covenant  record.  And  by  faith  they  who  were  under 
the  covenant  heard,  and  took  hold  of  the  promises,  and  walked 
thereby,  and  were  glad.  See  Hebrews  XI. 


III. 


THE  NEW  COVENANT  RECORD,  AND  ITS  TEACH- 
INGS  UPON   THE  SUBJECT   OF   HOLINESS 
UNTO   THE   LORD. 


It  is  only  by  keeping  the  great  Scriptural  landmarks  clearly 
and  constantly  in  view  that  the  possibility  of  reaching  satisfac- 
tory conclusions  upon  any  moot  point  of  doctrine  may  be 
assured.  For  the  Scriptures  are  not  an  aggregation  of  discon- 
nected, fragmentary  writings,  but  a  continuous,  self-consistent 
record  of  the  working  out  of  a  plan  which  from  beginning  to 
end  never  loses  sight  of  one  purpose.  This  general  scope  of  the 
Scriptures  must  never  be  overlooked,  nor  the  fact  that  each 
separate  writing  must  strictly  accord  and  harmonize  with  the 
end  in  view.  Let  us  briefly  review  a  few  of  these  landmarks. 

What  did  the  coming  of  Christ  upon  earth  bring  to  man? 

It  brought: — 

1— The  fulfilling  of  the  Old  Covenant  in  the  offering  of  the 
true  sacrifice  for  transgression.  Calvary  was  the  final  altar 
sacrifice  for  sin: — 

"For  it  is  not  possible  that   the    blood  of 
bulls  and  goats  should  take  away  sin."  , Hebrews  X.-4. 

"The  next  day  John  seeth  Jesus  coming  unto  him,  and  saith, 
Behold  the  Lamb  of  God,  which  taketh  away  the  sin  of  the 
world."  John  I.-29. 

And  beyond  this  sacrifice  there  is  no  other:— 

"But  this 

man,  after  he  had  offered  one  sacrifice  for  sins  forever,  sat  down 
on  the  right  hand  of  God."    Hebrews  X.-12. 


78  HOLINESS  UNTO  THE  LORD. 

2— It  brought  the  doctrine  of  the  new  birth  :— 

"Jesus  answered 

and  said  unto  him,  Verily,  verily,  I  say  unto  thee,  except  a 
man  be  born  again,  he  cannot  see  the  kingdom  of  God."  John 
III.-3. 

3 — It  made  of  the  doctrine  a  completed  fact,  not  simply  a 
prophecy:— 

"But  as  many  as  received  him,  to  them  gave  he 
power  to  become  the  sons  of  God,  even  to  them  that  believe  on 
his  name:  which  were  born  not  of  blood,  nor  of  the  will  of  the 
flesh,  nor  of  the  will  of  man,  but  of  God."  John  I.— 12,  13. 

"Beloved,  now  are  we  the  sons  of  God:"    I.  John  III.-2. 

4 — It  brought  the  doctrine  of  the  indwelling  Christ: — 

"He  that  eateth  my  flesh  and  drinketh  my  blood,  dwelleth 
in  me,  and  I  in  him."  John  VP-56. 

And  this  is  life,  for:— 

"Whoso  eateth  my  flesh,  and  drink- 
eth my  blood,  hath  eternal  life."    John  VI.-54. 

5— It  brought  the  prophecy  and  promise  of  the  coming  of 
the  Holy  Spirit:— 

"And  T  will  pray  the  Father,  and  he  shall 

give  you  another  Comforter,  that  he  may  abide  with  you  for- 
ever: even  the  Spirit  (Trvev/xa)  of  truth :  whom  the  world  can- 
not receive,  because  it  seeth  him  not,  neither  knoweth  him : 
but  ye  know  him  for  he  dwelleth  with  you,  and  shall  be  in 
you."  John  XIV.-16,  17. 

But  not  yet  come:— 

"It   is   expedient   for   you    that    I   go 

away:  for  if  I  go  not  away,  the  Comforter  will  not  come  unto 
you:  but  if  I  depart  I  will  send  him  unto  you."  John  XVI-7. 

6 — It  brought  a  foretelling  of  the  office  of  the  Holy  Spirit: — 

"But  the  Comforter,  which  is  the  Holy  Ghost,  (Ilj/cv/xa) 
whom  the  Father  will  send  in  my  name,  he  shall  teach  you  all 
things,  and  bring  all  things  to  your  remembrance,  whatsoever 
I  have  said  unto  you."  John  XIV.-26. 

"Howbeit  when  he,  the  Spirit  (Ilvev/xa)  of  truth  is  come* 
he  will  guide  you  into  all  truth:  for  he  shall  not  speak  of  him" 
self:  (d<£*  eavrov —  from  himself)  but  whatsoever  he  shall  hear 
that  shall  he  speak;  and  he  will  show  you  things  to  come." 
John  XVI.— 13. 


THE  NEW  COVENANT  RECORD   UPON   THE  SUBJECT.  79 

The  foregoing  are  all  clear,  sharply  defined  steps  in  the  line 
of  development  of  soul  life,  clearly  set  forth  in  the  Scriptures, 
and  about  which  Christians  have  little  controversy.  Now,  how- 
ever, diversity  of  opinions  and  of  theories  begins.  It  starts  from 
the  dividing  line  of  the  new  birth  (regeneration.) 

John  speaks  of  one  "born  again"  as  one  who  "doth  not 
commit  sin,"  and  as  one  who  "cannot  sin,  because  he  is  born 
of  God"  (I.  John  III. -9),  yet,  as  has  been  shown  in  the  essay 
upon  THE  WAY  OF  LIFE,  in  the  same  epistle  he  recognizes  the 
possibility  of  sin  in  those  born  of  God,  and  warns  against  it. 

Paul  speaks  of  one  born  of  God  as  a  "babe  in  Christ"  full 
of  imperfections,  and  weaknesses,  and  frequently  falling  into  sin: 
"And  I,  brethern,  could  not  speak  unto  you  as  unto  spiritual, 
but  as  unto  carnal,  even  as  uuto  babes  in  Christ.  I  have  fed 
you  with  milk,  and  not  with  meat:  for  hitherto  ye  were  not 
able  to  bear  it,  neither  yet  now  are  ye  able.  For  ye  are  yet 
carnal:  for  whereas  there  is  among  you  envying,  and  strife,  and 
divisions,  are  ye  not  carnal,  and  walk  as  men?"  I.  Corinth. 
III.-l,  3. 

Yet  Paul  also  speaks  of  one  born  again  who  after  a  while, 
through  a  perfecting  work,  comes  "unto  a  perfect  man,  unto 
the  measure  of  the  stature  of  the  fulness  of  Christ,"  "no  more 
a  child,  tossed  to  and  fro,"  swayed  and  let  astray  as  a  child, 
but  one  able  to  stand  as  a  man.  (Ephesians  IV.-13,  14.) 

Thus  both  of  these  writers  recognize  clearly  two  distinct 
stages  in  the  soul  life  of  the  one  "born  of  God,"  childhood- 
manhood:  a  work  begun — a  work  completed.  John  recognizes 
it  by  implication:  Paul  recognizes  it  by  direct  statement. 


IV. 
SPIRITUAL  CHILDHOOD— SPIRITUAL  MANHOOD. 


How  does  this  "babe  in  Christ"  become  a  man  in  Christ? 

This  one  question  covers  the  whole  field  of  the  so-called 
Holiness  controversy,  and  a  satisfactory  answer  to  it  would  be 
a  solution  to  the  whole  matter. 

That  there  remains  a  further  work  to  be  done  in  the  believer 
after  regeneration,  Christ  himself  recognizes  in  that  last  prayer 
with  his  disciples  when  he  prays  for  them,  saying:— 

"Sanctify  them  in  the  (cv  rrj)  truth."    John  XVII.-17. 

That  this  was  not  a  part  of  the  work  to  be  done  by  the 
Christ  coming,  is  shown  by  his  words  in  the  beginning  of  the 
same  prayer,  when  he  says,  "I  have  finished  the  work  which 
thou  gavest  me  to  do."  John  XVII.-4. 

Christ's  specific  work  ends  with  remission  of  transgression 
in  the  sacrifice  of  Calvary  (John  I.-29),  and  regeneration  (John 
VI.-54).  And  if  one  regenerated  falls  into  sin  (d/xa/m'a,  trans- 
gression) John  says,  We  have  an  advocate  with  the 
Father  who  is  the  propitiation  for  our  sins.  (I.  John  II.— 2.), 
And  again  the  sin  may  be  pardoned. 

But  the  further  work  for 

this  "babe  in  Christ"  is,  by  Christ's  own  statement,  to  be  the 
work,  not  of  himself,  for  "I  have  finished  the  work  which  thou 
gavest  me  to  do,"  (John  XVII.-4),  but  is  to  be  the  work  of 
the  Holy  Spirit  as  instructor,  "Howbeit  when  he,  the  Spirit 
of  truth,  is  come,  he  will  guide  you  into  all  truth."  (John 
XVI.-13.) 

It  would  seem  to  be  the  office,  then,  of  the  Holy 
Spirit  to  take  this  new  born  babe  in  Christ,  and  guide  him 
nto  all  truth.  The  Holy  Spirit  is  thus  described  as  the  School- 


SPIRITUAL    CHILDHOOD— SPIRITUAL    MANHOOD.  81 

master  who  is  to  train  this  "babe  in  Christ"  unto  a  perfect 
man,  unto  the  measure  of  the  statare  of  the  fulness  of  Christ." 

That  this  work  is  not  one  limited  to  the  little  band  of  disci- 
ples present  that  night,  but  is  a  work  to  be  done  in  all  of  Christ's 
followers,  is  shown  by  the  added  words  in  the  same  prayer 
when  he  says,  "Neither  pray  I  for  these  alone,  but  for  them 
also  which  shall  believe  on  me  through  their  word."  John 
XVII.-20. 

And  that  this  is  to  be  the  man  completely  at  one  again 
with  God,  is  shown  by  his  words  in  the  following  verse,  as  he 
says,  "That  they  all  may  be  one,  as  thou  Father  art  in  me, 
and  I  in  thee,  that  they  also  may  be  one  in  us." 

How  does  this  "babe  in  Christ"  become  a  man? 

An  essential 

preliminary  to  an  answer  is  the  consideration  of  the  further 
question,  What  is  the  mental  and  spiritual  condition  of  the 
newly  regenerated  one,  this  "babe  in  Christ"? 

Is  it  a  babe,  pure,  clean  from  all  transgression?  or  is  it  one 
haying  still  what  has  been  termed  a  residuum  of  sin,  from 
which  it  has  not  yet  been  cleansed? 

And  again,  before  the  inquiry  can  be  prosecuted,  another 
preliminary  must  be  settled,  namely,  What  is  meant  by  the 
word  sin.  Much  of  the  perplexity  which  has  arisen  upon  this 
point  has  come  from  ambiguity  in  the  use  of  the  word  sin.  It 
has  come  from  confusing,  and  treating  as  one  and  the  same,  an 
act  and  the  inherited  proneness  to  the  act.  This  word  sin 
occurs  107  times  in  the  New  Covenant  record.  In  every  case  it 
is  a  translation  of  the  Greek  d/xapna  (verb  d/oux/oTavo>) ,  or  one  of 
its  derivatives.  The  word  a/xa/cma  means  primarily  the  missing 
of  a  mark,  as  of  one  throwing  a  spear.  The  secondary  meaning 
is,  an  evil  deed  committed,  a  transgression.  It  does  not  mean 
heredity  in  evil  tendency.  John  defines  the  word  when  he  says, 
"Sin  is  the  transgression  of  the  Law."  I.  John  III.-4.  Christ, 
in  the  keen,  heart-searching  analysis  of  the  Sermon  on  the 
Mount,  makes  this  more  explicit  by  showing  that  transgres- 
sion may  be  of  desire,  or  intent:  as  well  as  of  overt  act. 

Heredity  cannot  be  sin.  If  it  were,  no  child  dying  in  infancy 
could  be  saved,  because  it  could  have  no  chance  to  repent  of  its 
sin  and  turn  to  God,  and  thus  prepare  the  way  for  regen- 
eration. Neither  has  it  power  to  believe  on  Christ  that  it 


82  HOLINESS     UNTO  THE  LORD. 

may  have  eternal  life.  Yet,  "of  such  is  the  kingdom  of  heaven" 
says  Christ  of  the  little  ones.  Could  he  say  it  of  those  who 
possess  inherited  sin  even?  Such  (as  the  little  ones)  was  Adam: 
he  transgressed.  Such  is  the  child:  it  may  transgress.  With  the 
inherited  tendency  and  proneness  to  evil,  it  will  transgress,  and 
will  need  the  atonement  for  transgression,  but  not  for  inherited 
transgression.  Sin,  then,  is  not  heredity,  but  actual  transgres- 
sion. 

And  now  to  come  back  to  the  question  of  a  residuum  of  sin 
after  justification. 

Is  not  the  one  justified  a  man  cleansed  from  all  transgres- 
sion? Has  the  work^of  pardon  been  only  partial  ?  Is  there'still 
a  residuum  left  uncleansed?  Such  a  supposition  would  involve 
one  of  two  things: — 

1— That  the  sinner  has  repented  of  only  a  part  of  his  sins: 
as  though  he  came  to  God  saying,  "I  repent  me  of  my  immor- 
alities, and  ask  pardon  therefor,  but  do  not  repent  me  of 
my  hatreds."  Would  God  pardon  anything  to  such  an  applica- 
tion? 

2— That  to  one  repenting  of  all,  God  replies,  "I  will  pardon 
your  immoralities,  but  not  your  hatreds."  Would  God  do  this 
to  a  soul  sincerely  repenting? 

A  partial  justification  would  be  an  absurdity  upon  the  very 
face  of  it. 

And  so  with  regard  to  regeneration.  A  child  is  born  or  it 
is  not  born.  Christ  does  not  say  to  Nicodemus: — "Nicodemus, 
you  must  be  partly  born  again ;  and  after  a  while  you  may  be 
entirely  born."  The  very  figure  made  use  of  by  Christ  forbids 
such  a  supposition  as  an  absurdity. 

The  "babe  in  Christ"  is  not  then,  a  babe  with  the  stain  of 
a  partially  cleansed  sin  yet  upon  him.  He  is  not  one  who  is 
only  partly  justified,  but  one  as  a  new  born  babe,  cleansed 
through  the  atonement  of  Christ,  and  alive  spiritually  in  God, 
through  the  indwelling  Christ,  yet,  Paul  says,  still  a  babe. 


In  what  sense  is  justified  and  regenerated  man  still  a  babe? 

To  find  answer  to  this  question  we  must  begin  back  at  the 
starting  point  of  man's  existence — man  as  first  made  by  God- 
man  before  the  the  first  death  to  God  in  transgression— the  man 
pictured  in  the  first  three  chapters  of  Genesis.  It  is  a  picture 


SPIRITUAL    CHILDHOOD— SPIRITUAL    MANHOOD.  83 

of  a  new  born  infant,  a  babe  in  the  knowledge  of  good  and 
evil,  a  babe  in  desire,  a  babe  in  will.  It  is  the  parallel  of  the 
infant  as  born  daily  into  the  world. 

Did  he  remain  a  babe? 

Not  in  the  knowledge  of  good  and  evil:— 

"For  God  doth 

know  that  in  the  day  ye  eat  thereof,  then  your  eyes  shall  be 
opened:  and  ye  shall  be  as  gods,  knowing  good  and  evil." 
Genesis  III.— 5. 

"And  the  Lord  God  said,  Behold  the  man  is  become  as  one 
of  us,  to  know  go6d  and  evil:"  Genesis  III.-22. 

"As  one  of  us" — this  babe  in  Christ  is  no  longer  a  babe  in 
the  knowledge  of  good  and  evil.  He  has  eaten  of  the  fruit  of 
the  tree  of  the  knowledge  of  good  and  evil,  and  verily  the 
tempter  was  right,  it  was  a  tree  to  make  one  wise,  but  it  is 
not  a  wisdom  that  leadeth  unto  life.  The  babe  of  innocency  is 
no  longer  a  babe  in  innocency,  but  a  man,  wise  in  that  knowl- 
edge of  sin,  the  ending  whereof  is  spiritual  death. 

"As  one  of  us"  —  If  no  longer  then  a  babe  in  intellect,  is  it 
in  desire  and  will  power? 

Is  it  the  spiritual  nature  that  is  born  again  as  a  babe  in 
Christ?  What  light  does  the  New  Covenant  record  throw  upon 
this  point? 

"And  I,  brethren,  could  not  speak  unto  you  as  unto 
spiritual,  but  as  unto  carnal,  even  as  unto  babes  in  Christ:  I 
have  fed  you  with  milk,  and  not  with  meat;  for  hitherto  ye 
were  not  able  to  bear  it,  neither  yet  now  are  ye  able.  For  ye 
are  yet  carnal:  for  whereas  there  is  among  you  envying  and 
strife,  and  divisions,  are  ye  not  carnal,  and  walk  as  men?"  I. 
Corinthians  III.-l,  3. 

"And  grieve  not  the  Holy  Spirit  of  God  whereby  ye  are 
sealed  unto  the  day  of  redemption.  Let  alt  bitterness,  and 
wrath,  and  anger,  and  clamor,  and  evil  speaking,  be  put  away 
from  you,  with  all  malice;  and  be  ye  kind  one  to  another,  ten- 
der-hearted, forgiving  one  another,  even  as  God  for  Christ's  sake 
hath  forgiven  you.  Be  ye  therefore  followers  (/JLL^TOL  imitators) 
of  God,  as  dear  children.  *  J*  *  *  *  "Let  no  man  deceive 
you  with  vain  words:  for  because  of  these  things  cometh  the 
wrath  of  God  upon  the  child rea  of  disobedience.  Be  not  ye 
therefore  partakers  with  them,"  Ephesians  IV.-30,  32  and  V.— 
1,  6,  7. 


84  HOLINESS    UNTO   THE   LORD. 

"That  we  henceforth  be  no  more  children,  tossed  to  and  fro, 
and  carried  about  with  every  wind  of  doctrine,  by  the  sleight  of 
men,  and  cunning  craftiness,  whereby  they  lie  in  wait  to 
deceive :  but  speaking  the  trnth  in  love,  may  grow  up  into  him 
in  all  things,  which  is  the  head,  even  Christ."  Ephesians  IV.- 
14,  15. 

"Wherefore  laying  aside  all  malice,  and  all  guile,  and  all 
hypocricies,  and  all  envies,  and  all  evil  speaking,  as  new  born 
babes,  desire  the  sincere  milk. of  the  word,  that  ye  may  grow 
thereby."  I.  Peter  II,-1.  2. 

These  texts  give  a  picture  of  one  who  is*a  child  in  wayward 
desire  a  child  in  inability  to  restrain  passion,  a  child  in  the 
ease  with  which  it  may  be  led  astray,  a  child  in  ignorance  of 
spiritual  things,  a  child  with  a  will  uncertain  and  easily  swayed 
from  the  right.  It  is  a  new  born  babe,  prone  to  evil,  needing 
constantly  an  instructor,  a  guide,  one  who  is  yet  a  child,  not 
yet  a  man,  in  God. 

And  now  for  this  new  born  soul  a  standard  is  set  up,  for  it 
is  not  to  remain  a  "babe  in  Christ."  It  is  that  Old  Covenant 
standard  of  "Holiness  unto  the  Lord." 

"Be  ye  holy,"  is  the  command  to  this  babe  yet  feeble 
against  unholy  desires.  Why? — "for  I  (the  Lord)  am  holy."  I. 
Peter  I.-16. 

The  lost  image  of  God  (Genesis  I. -27)  is  to  be  regained. 

"Be  ye  therefore  perfect,  even  as  your  Father  which  is  in 
heaven  is  perfect."  Matth,  V.-48. 

Again  the  lost  image  as  a  standard. 

Father,  "sanctify  them"  (sanctus  facio  'Ayiacrov,  make  holy). 
It  is  Christ's  cry  over  the  Apostles,  and  over  "all  them  who 
shall  believe  on  me  through  their  word."  John  XVII.-17  and  20. 

"And  the  very  God  of  peace  sanctify  you  wholly."  I.  Thesso. 
V.  23. 

"For  I  long  to  see  you  that  I  may  impart  unto  you  some 
spiritual  gift,  to  the  end  ye  may  be  established."  Romans  I.- 
II.  And  this  to  the  "beloved  of  God  in  Rome,  called  to  be 
saints"  (dyibis  —holy),  but  not  yet  strong  to  stand. 

It  never  ceases,  this  holding  up  of  the  standard,  the  warn- 
ing, the  exhortation,  the  prayer.  And  this  not  to  the  unregen- 
erate,  those  dead  in  sin,  but,  as  the  context  in  the  various  cases 
shows,  to  the  regenerate,  those  born  again.  It  never  ceases, 
for  the  battle  is  again  on,  and  on  in  this  regenerated  soul.  Not 


SPIRITUAL    CHILDHOOD— SPIRITUAL    MANHOOD.  85 

such  a  battle  as  the  first  man,  fresh  from  the  hands  of  his 
Maker  had  to  fight,  but  a  battle  of  man  with  the  ages  of  her- 
edity upon  him.  For  "The  fathers  have  eaten  sour  grapes,  and 
the  children's  teeth  are  set  on  edge."  Ezekiel  XVIII.-2. 

It  is  the  child  with  the  baleful  fires  of  the  ages  of  wrong- 
doing of  the  fathers  burning  in  his  blood.  It  is  a  battle  such 
as  the  Adam  of  man's  innocency  could  not  even  have  been  con- 
ceived of.  It  is  the  curse  of  the  centuries  of  murder  and  violence 
and  rapine  and  wrong.  It  is  the  taint  of  the  slum,  of  the 
brothel,  of  the  wine  cup.  The  battle  that  was  upon  that  first 
man  in  the  pure-blooded  innocency  of  the  race  was  a  parade 
day  skirmish  to  the  fierce  grapple  that  comes  to  his  children  as 
earth  has  grown  old  and  hoary  in  sin.  Is  it  any  wonder  the 
warning  cry  never  ceases  in  the  pages  of  the  sacred  record? 
Would  God  have  been  just  to  man  if  he  had  not  sounded  the 
alarm?  It  is  the  long  roll  to  the  new  made  camp.  Double  the 
guards!  Strengthen  the  outposts!  Keep  watch  and  ward 
against  the  powers  of  sin.  Do  not  dream  you  are  safe  and 
secure.  It  was  only  a  lull  in  the  battle. 

There  is  something  more  needed  than  the  pardon  of  trans- 
gression and  the  birth  again  into  spiritual  life.  Be  holy !  Be 
perfect!  Be  established!  It  is  the  price  of  safety.  Not  until  the 
"babe  in  Christ"  has  grown  "unto  the  measure  of  the  stature 
of  the  fulness  of  Christ,"  has  become  holy,  perfect,  established, 
is  the  victory  final;  for  this  man  who  "is  become  as  one  of  us 
to  know  good  and  evil"  (Genesis  III. -22.)  must  "become  as  one 
of  us"  in  holiness  also,  that  he  may  stand. 

And  now  again  the  question  may  be  asked,  and  this  time 
with  the  preliminaries  cleared, 

How  is  this  "babe  in  Christ"  to  come  "unto  a  perfect  man, 
unto  the  measure  of  the  stature  of  the  fulness  of  Christ"? 
— that  one  of  whom  John  says,  "he  doth  not  commit  sin." 

1 — He  is  to  be  instructed  in  spiritual  truth. 

When  man  that  day  ate  of  the  fruit  of  the  tree  of  the 
knowledge  of  good  and  evil,  and  became  as  "one  of  us,  to  know 
good  and  evil,"  (Hebrew,  Yada— literally  to  ascertain  by  seeing, 
i.  e.,  to  gain  knowledge  of  by  testing,  to  make  acquaintance 
with),  it  does  not  necessarily  follow  that  with  this  power  now 
his,  he  made  use  of  it  all.  His  spiritual  education  began  that 
day.  That  he  did  proceed  to  know  ?vil  the  sad  history  of  man 


86  HOLINESS  UNTO  THE  LORD. 

only  too  surely  proves.  That  he  preceded  also  to  know  good, 
that  history  as  surely  disproves.  And  as  one  who  develops  by 
training  only  one  side  of  his  powers,  he  became  a  man  in  the 
knowledge  of  evil:  but  remained  a  child  in  his  knowledge  of 
good:  and  further,  it  is  as  this  child,  undeveloped  in  the  knowl- 
edge of  good,  that  he  is  "born  again." 

And  now  this  babe  in  the  knowledge  of  spiritual  things  is 
to  be  instructed,  taught,  developed  along  the  neglected,  the 
dwarfed  side,  of  his  spiritual  nature. 

It  is  to  this  end,  manifestly,  that  Christ  says: 

"Howbeit 

when  he,  the  Spirit  of  truth,  is  come,  he  will  guide  you  into  all 
truth;  for  he  shall  not  speak  of  himself  (£<£'  eavrov,  from  him- 
self); but  whatsoever  he  shall  hear,  that  shall  he  speak;  and  he 
will  show  you  things  to  come."  John  XVI.-13. 

2 — His  heart  must  be  freed  from  its  proneness  to  evil. 

This 

is  the  cry  that  David  sends  up  when  he  prays,  "Create  in  me  a 
clean  heart,  0  God:  and  renew  a  right  spirit  within  me."  Psalm 
LI.-10. 

And  this  is  the  promise:— 

"A  new  heart  also  will  I  give 

you,  and  a  new  spirit  will  I  put  within  you:"  Ezekiel  XXXVI. 
-26. 

3— The  feeble,  vacillating  will  must  be  strengthened,  that 
when  evil  presents  itself  he  may  will  to  do  right,  with  a 
strength  of  will  that  shall  yield  to  no  solicitation,  no  tempta- 
tion. 

It  is  of  this  feeble  will  that  Paul  says  in  dismay, 

"For  the 

good  that  I  would  I  do  not;  but  the  evil  which  I  would  not, 
that  I  do."  Romans  VII.-19. 

Yet  it  is  to  the  latent  possibilities  of  that  will  that  the  clos- 
ing invitation  of  the  New  Covenant  record  is  addressed  when 
it  says,  as  a  final  invitation: — 

"And  whosoever  will,  let  him 
take  the  water  of  life  freely."    Rev.  XXII.-17. 

Neither  of  these  three  alone  is  sufficient.  Neither  any  two 
of  them.  An  understanding  enlightened  to  discern  between  good 
and  evil,  without  a  desire  to  choose  good,  and  a  will  to  follow 


SPIRITUAL    CHILDHOOD— SPIRITUAL    MANHOOD.  87 

it  rather  than  evil,  will  not  ayail  unto  "Holiness  unto  the 
Lord." 

A  heart  freed  from  its  proneness  to  evil,  without  an  [under- 
standing enlightened  to  discern  which  is  the  good,  and  which 
the  evil,  and  a  will  strong  to  decide  between  the  two  will  not 
avail;  for  how  shall  one  follow  the  right  who  does  not  know 
what  the  right  is,  and  has  no  strength  of  will  to  resist  evil  and 
choose  the  good.  Probably  no  error  more  dangerous  in  its 
practical  results  to  human  souls  can  be  taught  than  that  Holi- 
ness unto  the  Lord  is  summed  up  in  a  heart  work  alone. 

A  strengthened  will  alone  is  not  enough,  for  of  what  avail 
will  it  be  to  will  to  do  good  without  an  understanding  of  what 
good  is — and  with  a  heart  prone  to  evil. 

That  one  may  become  "Holy  unto  the  Lord,"  all  three  of 
these  conditions  are  essential;  for  it  is  the  whole  man  that  is  to 
be  made  holy  unto  the  Lord;  and  it  is  to  be  a  man,  not  a  babe. 


V. 


DOES  "HOLINESS  UNTO  THE  LORD" 

COME  TO   MAN  THROUGH    PROCESS    OF    SPIRITUAL 

GROWTH?   OR  IS   IT  THE   DIRECT  GIFT  OF 

GOD?    OR  DO  BOTH  GOD  AND  MAN 

HAVE   PART  IN  THE  WORK? 

But  how  is  this  change  to  be  brought  about?  for  still  the 
question  remains  unanswered,  How  is  this  "babe  in  Christ"  to 
come  "unto  a  perfect  man,  unto  the  measure  of  the  stature  of 
the  fulness  of  Christ,"  the  one  who  "doth  not  commit  sin"? 

Is  it  as  in  the  man  physical,  the  man  mental,  from  within, 
aud  by  the  slower  process  of  growth?  or  is  the  law,  which 
elsewhere  holds  good  in  man's  being,  here  set  aside,  and  is  it 
from  God  at  once,  and  by  gift  from  God? 

Analogy  would  point  to  the    process  of 

growth  rather  than  to  sudden  gift  from  without,  for  God's 
laws,  as  we  find  them  elsewhere,  are  general  rather  than  special 
in  character  and  action. 

Yet  in  the  face  of  the  many  miracles  of  direct  intervention 
recorded  in  the  history  of  God's  spiritual  dealings  with  men,  we 
cannot  assume  that  this  is  the  case;  and  we  have  seen  that  in 
the  pardon  of  transgression,  and  in  regeneration,  while  man  has 
by  his  own  voluntary  act  complied  with  the  requirements  laid 
down  by  God,  yet  the  pardon,  the  regeneration,  have  been 
God's  sole  act.  and,  inferential/y,  sudden  in  consummation. 

What  light  does  the  New  Covenant  record  throw  upon  this 
question? 

Paul  says:— 

"And  he  gave  some  to  be  apostles;  and  some, 
prophets:  and  some,  evangelists:  and  some,  pastors,  and  teach- 


HOW  DOES  HOLINESS  UNTO  THE  LORD   COME  TO  MAN?          89 

ers:  for  the  perfecting- of  the  saints,  unto  the  work  of  ministering, 
unto  the  building  up  of  the  body  of  Christ:  till  we  all  attain  unto 
the  unity  of  the  faith,  and  of  the  knowledge  of  the  Son  of  God, 
unto  a  full  grown  man,  unto  the  measure  of  the  stature  of  the 
fulness  of  Christ:  that  we  may  be  no  longer  children,  tossed  to 
and  fro  and  carried  about  with  every  wind  of  doctrine,  by  the 
sleight  of  men,  in  craftiness,  after  the  wiles  of  error,  but  speak- 
ing truth  ( oArjOevovres  dealing  truly)  in  love,  may  grow  up  in  all 
things  into  him,  which  is  the  head,  even  Christ."  Ephesians 
IV— 11,  15. 

Peter  gives  the  same  thought: — 

"Putting   away   therefore 

all  wickedness,  and  all  guile,  and  hypocricies,  and  envies,  and  all 
evil  speakings,  as  new  born  babes,  long  for  the  spiritual  milk, 
which  is  without  guile,  that  ye  may  grow  thereby  unto  salva- 
tion.   I.  Peter  II.-l,  2. 
Yet  Peter  also  says: — 

"And   the  God  of  all  grace  who  hath 

called  you    (v/xas)    unto  his  eternal  glory  in  Christ,  after  that 
ye  have  suffered    a   little    while    shall  himself  perfect,    stablish, 
strengthen  you."    I.  Peter  V.-10. 
And  Paul,  also,  says: — 

"But    the    Lord    is    faithful,    who 

shall  stablish  you,  and  keep  you  from  evil."  II.  Thessalon. 
III.-3. 

In  Hebrews  we  find: — 

"Wherefore,  let  us  cease  to  speak  of 

the  first  principles  of  Christ,  and  press  on  unto  perfection 
(reXetOT^Ta— R.  V.  marg.  full  growth);  not  laying  again  a  foun- 
dation of  repentance  from  dead  works,  and  of  faith  toward  God, 
of  the  teaching  of  baptism,  and  of  laying  on  of  hands,  and 
of  resurrection  of  the  dead,  and  of  eternal  judgment.  And  this 
will  we  do,  if  God  permit."  Hebrews  VI.-l,  3. 
Yet  we  also  find  in  Hebrews: — 

"Now    the   God  of  peace, 

that  brought  again  from  the  dead  our  Lord  Jesus,  that 
great  shepherd  of  the  sheep,  through  the  blood  of  the  everlast- 
ing covenant,  make  you  perfect  in  every  good  thing  to  do  his 
will,  working  in  you  that  which  is  well  pleasing  in  his  sight, 
through  Jesus  Christ,  to  whom  be  glory  for  ever  and  ever." 
Hebrews  XIII.-20,  21. 


90  HOLINESS    UNTO    THE    LORD. 

These  specimen  texts  show  an  apparent  conflict  running: 
through  the  New  Covenant  record  upon  the  question  of  the 
manner  and  source  of  this  further  change,  a  change  of  which  the 
Old  Covenant  record  dimly  hints,  and  which  Christ  in  his  prayer 
foretells  for  the  regenerated,  and  whereby  the  "babe  in  Christ", 
comes  unto  a  "perfect  man,  unto  the  measure  of  the  stature  of 
the  fulness  of  Christ." 

The  conflict  hinges  around  the  question,  Whether  it  is  again, 
like  justification  and  regeneration,  a  direct  and  sudden  work  of 
God,  done  for  man?  or  whether  the  further  work  is  of  man  him- 
self, under  a  law  of  development  and  growth?— or  is  there  some 
third  solution  to  the  question? 

Paul  throws  a  flood  of  light  upon  the  subject  in  one  of  those 
texts  which  stand  like  a  guide  post  at  the  parting  of  ways: — 

"Wherefore,  my  beloved,  as  ye  have  always  obeyed, 
not  as  in  my  presence  only,  but  now  much  more  in  my  absence, 
Work  out  your  own  salvation  with  fear  and  trembling,  for  it  is 
God  which  worketh  in  you  both  to  will  and  to  do  of  his  good 
pleasure."  Philipp.  II.-12,  13. 

And  this  is  addressed,  not  to  the  unregenerate,  but  "to  all 
the  saints  in  Christ  Jesus  which  are  at  Philippi,  with  the  bish- 
ops and  deacons:"  ....  "Being  confident  of  this  very  thing, 
that  he  which  hath  begun  a  good  .wark  in  you,  will  perform  it 
until  the  day  of  Jesus  Christ."  Philipp.  I.-l  and  6. 

It  is  thus  not  man  alone:  not  God  alone.  It  is  God  work- 
ing together  with  man:  man  working  together  with  God.  And 
as  the  days,  the  years,  go  by,  the  spiritual  apprehension 
grows  clearer,  under  the  tutelage  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  to  discern 
between  good  and  evil,  and  to  know  God's  will:  the  troubled 
heart,  torn  by  conflicting  desires,  learns  to  desire  good  rather 
than  evil,  and  desires  to  do  God's  will:  the  will,  weak,  vacillat- 
ing between  good  and  evil,  grows  strong  to  will  to  do  good 
and  not  evil:  and  learns  to  say  to  God,  Thy  will  and  not  mine 
be  done:— the  result,  "Holiness  unto  the  Lord."  The  "babe  in 
Christ"  is  "come  unto  a  perfect  man,  unto  the  measure  of  the 
stature  of  the  fulness  of  Christ,"  and  "doth  not  commit  sin." 


VI. 

WHAT    PART   DOES    GOD   HAVE— WHAT    PART 
DOES    MAN    HAVE    IN    THE   WORK? 

What  share  does  each  have  in  this  work?  How  much  is 
man's  growth  tinder  the  law  of  deTelopment?  —  how  much  is 
God's  work  by  direct  act  of  intervention? 

The  Scriptures  do  not  say. 

Have  we  anything  from  which  we  may  reason  to  an 
answer? 

Yes!  The  Scriptures  refer  constantly  to  the  earthly 
parent  as  an  illustration  of  God's  ways  with  his  children.  Apply 
the  test  here.  How  does  an  earthly  parent  do  in  the  rearing 
and  training  of  his  children  from  infancy  to  adult  life?  The  wise 
father  does  for  the  child  only  what  it  cannot  do  for  itself.  His 
object  is  to  make  a  man  of  the  child,  a  man  who  may  be 
strong  to  stand  in  the  hour  of  testing,  To  do  for  the  child  that 
which  it  is  able  to  do  for  itself  is  to  defeat  the  very  end  had  in 
view,  and  is  to  do  a  great  wrong  to  the  child.  It  is  to  deprive 
it  of  the  chance  to  grow  and  become  strong,  for  strength  comes 
of  the  struggling.  Yet  the  wise  father  does  not  let  the  child 
become  discouraged.  He  is  ever  watching  over  it.  If  the  hour 
comes  when  the  child's  strength  is  not  sufficient  for  the  burden, 
his  hand  is  stretched  out  to  help. 

The  father  works  together  with  his  child  to  the  building  up 
of  a  man. 

"Does  God  do  so  with  his  children? 

"And  lest  I  should 

be  exalted  above  measure,  through  the  abundance  of  the  revel- 
ations, there  was  given  me  a  thorn  in  the  flesh,  a  messenger  of 


92  HOLINESS    UNTO    THE    LORD. 

Satan  to  buffet  me  lest  I  should  be  exalted  above  measure. 
For  this  thing  I  besought  the  Lord  thrice  that  it  might  depart 
from  me.  And  he  said  unto  me,  My  grace  is  sufficient  for 
thee."  II.  Corinth.  XII.-.7,  8,  9. 

"The  steps  of  a  good  man  are  ordered  by  the  Lord:  and  he 
delighteth  in  his  way.  Though  he  fall  he  shall  not  be  utterly 
cast  down:  for  the  Lord  upholdeth  him  with  his  hand."  Psalm 
XXXVII.-23,  24. 

How  is  man,  then,  to  do  his  part  that  he,  "a  babe  in 
Christ,"  may  come  "unto  a  perfect  man,  unto  the  measure  of 
the  stature  of  the  fulness  of  Christ,"  and  thus  be  "HOLY  UNTO 
THE  LORD?  for  as  has  been  shown,  there  is  a  part  which  man 
must  do.  God  is  only  one  of  two  workers  to  this  end.  The 
other  is  man  himself. 

As  has  been  shown,  three  things  are  necessary  to  this  change 
in  man.  It  may  be  well  for  the  sake  of  clearness  to  restate 
them. 

1 — He  is  to  be  instructed  in  spiritual  things,  that  he  may 
rightly  discern  what  is  good  and  what  is  evil. 

2 — His  heart  must  be  released  from  its  proneness  to  evil. 
3— His  will  must  be  strengthened   that  he  may  be  able  to 
will  to  do  good  rather  than  evil. 

How  much  of  this  can  man  do  for  himself?  Can  he 
instruct  himself  in  spiritual  things  to  clearly  discern  between 
good  and  evil  ?  The  answer  must  be,  Yes,  and  No. 

He  may  diligently  make  use  of  the  means  which  God  has 
placed  before  him  to  educate  himself  upon  this  point,  using  to 
this  end  all  the  intellectual  power  God  gave  him  when  he  was 
fashioned  by  his  Maker.  God's  reyealed  and  written  word  was 
given  for  this  purpose,  and  is  open  to  all. 

"Thy  word  is  a  lamp  unto  my  feet,  and  a  light  unto  my 
path."  Psalm  CXIX.-105. 

"All  Scripture  is  given  by  inspiration  of  God,  and  is  profit- 
able for  doctrine,  for  reproof,  for  correction,  for  instruction  in 
righteousness:  that  the  man  of  God  may  be  perfect,  throughly 
furnished  unto  all  good  works."  II.  Timothy,  III.-16,  17. 

Not  only  may  man  thus  diligently  make  use  of  the  means  of 
instruction  God  has  placed  before  him,  to  educate  himself  in 
spiritual  things,  that  he  may  be  able  to  discern  between  good 
and  evil,  but  God  lays  it  upon  man  as  an  obligation,  a  duty  to 


THE    PART   GOD    HAS— THE    PART   MAN    HAS   IN   THE    WORK.      93 

do  this  for  himself.  It  is  the  end  to  which  the  Scriptures  are 
given.  No  human  soul  can  safely  neglect  this  duty.  He  does  it 
at  his  own  peril.  And  God  has  nowhere  even  intimated  any 
purpose  of  supplanting  this  source  of  spiritual  enlightenment  by 
any  other  revelation  of  divme  truth.  Yet  God  has  supplemented 
(not  supplanted)  the  written  word  by  a  promise  to  give  to 
man  a  guide  into  spiritual  truth,  that  he  may  not  go  astray: — 

"Howbeit,  when  he,  the  Spirit  of  truth,  is  come,  he  will 
guide  you  into  all  truth."  John  XVI.-13. 

Thus,  while  man  cannot,  in  one  sense,  instruct  himself  in 
spiritual  things,  to  discern  between  good  and  evil,  yet  in  the 
sense  of  making  use  of  the  means  which  God  puts  into  his 
hands,  the  revealed  and  written  word,  and  by  availing  himself 
of  the  promised  guidance  of  the  Holy  Spirit  he  may  do  so. 
And  the  Scriptures  show  no  other  way  in  which  this  power  to 
discern  between  good  and  evil  may  be  gained.  Under  this  double 
training  the  spiritual  eyes  grew  keen  to  see,  and  the  conscience 
tender  to  feel,  and  man  becomes  skilled  to  discern  between  good 
and  evil. 

Can  man  free  his  own  heart  from  its  proneness  to  evil? 

David's  pleading  cry  to  God  after  his  backsliding,  voices  the 
common  experience  of  men  that  this  work  man  cannot  do  for 
himself. 

"Create  (thou)  in  me  a  clean  heart,  O  God,  and  renew  thou 
a  right  (Hebrew  — kuwn,  primitive  root,  to  be  erect,  to  be 
fixed,  established)  spirit  within  me,"  (Psalm  LI.-10),  is  the 
prayer  he  offers  up  for  himself. 

And   God   has  promised  to  do 
this  for  man : — 

"A  new  heart  also  will  I  give  you,  and  a  new 
spirit  will  I  put  within  you:  and  I  will  take  away  the  stony 
heart  out  of  your  flesh,  and  I  will  give  you  an  heart  of  flesh. 
And  I  will  put  my  Spirit  within  you,  and  cause  you  to  walk  in 
my  statutes,  and  ye  shall  keep  my  judgments,  and  do  them." 
Ezekiel  XXXVI.-26,  27. 

Yet,  man  must  ask  God  to  do  this.  It  is  the  condition 
which  comes  of  man's  free  agency.  When  God  gave  to  man  free 
will,  by  the  very  act  itself  he  placed  a  bar  across  his  own  power 
to  interfere  with  that  free  will,  even  to  help.  Man  must  first 
ask. 


94  HOLINESS  UNTO  THE  LORD. 

But  there  is  something  for  man  to  do  after  the  asking,  and 
after  God  has  made  good  his  promise  to  renew  a  right  spirit 
within  that  heart.  Somewhere  out  of  the  bitter  depths  of  his 
spiritual  experience,  David's  son  had  learned  this  lesson,  when 
he  wrote  the  warning  words: — 

"Keep  thy  heart  with  all  diligence; 

for  out    of  it    are   the   issues    of  life."    Proverbs  IY.-23. 
Man  must  stand  guard  over  his  own  heart." 
And   Christ  enforces  the  caution  when,   at  Gethsemane,  he 
makes  of  the  bodily  weariness  of  his  disciples  a  spiritual  object 
lesson,    and    says,    "Watch    and    pray    that    ye   enter    not  into 
temptation:       the     spirit     indeed    is     willing,    but  the    flesh    is 
weak."     Matthew  XXVI.-41. 

Can  man  do  anything  to  strengthen  his  own  will,  that  he 
may  be  strong  to  will  to  do  right  rather  than  wrong? 

Man  can  will  to  do:  he  can  will  not  to  do:  and,  as  has 
been  before  stated,  God  cannot,  under  the  conditions  of  freedom 
of  will  which  he  has  himself  laid  down,  interfere,  unless  at  man's 
request. 

This  absolute  freedom  of  man's  will  in  the  matter  of  his 
personal  relationship  to  God,  is  recognized  in  the  last  words  of 
Christ  before  the  book  of  the  New  Covenant  record  is  closed:— 

"And  whosoever  will,  let  him  take  the  water  of  life  freely," 
Rev.  XXII.-17. 

And  every  man  knows  that  his  will  is  his  own.  As,  then, 
in  his  will  he  is  thus  independent  of  God,  it  is  here  that  the 
great  battle  with  evil  must  be  fought  by  man:  and  he  must 
fight  it.  And  the  battle  is  all  the  more  far-reaching  from  the 
fact  that  man's  will  in  a  measure  dominates  his  heart  and  his 
understanding. 

It  was  the  will  that  first  took  man  away  from  God.  Man's 
will  had  it  in  its  power  that  day  of  the  first  temptation  to  say 
No,  to  the  heart  desire.  It  did  not;  and  man  by  his  own  will 
turned  from  good  to  evil.  And  as  man  in  his  freedom  of  will 
willed  to  turn  from  God,  so  man  must,  in  that  same  freedom  of 
will,  will  to  come  back  to  God.  Every  man  recognizes  this  fact 
in  himself.  It  needs  no  proof.  And  the  whole  scheme  of  God's 
dealings  with  man  is  based  upon  it  as  a  foundation  fact.  God 
does  not  command,  but  implores  man  to  turn  back  from  evil  to 
good: — 


THE   PART  GOD   HAS— THE   PART   MAN   HAS   IN   THE   WORK.       95 

"As  I  live,  saith  the  Lord  God,  I  have  no  pleasure  in  the 
death  of  the  wicked:  but  that  the  wicked  turn  from  his  way  and 
live:  turn  ye,  turn  ye,  from  your  evil  ways,  for  why  will  ye  die, 
O  house  of  Israel?"  Ezekiel  XXXIII.-ll. 

It  is  God's  yearning  cry  over  a  wilful  and  wayward  son. 

"O  Jerusalem,  Jerusalem,  thou  that  killest  the  prophets,  and 
stonest  them  which  are  sent  unto  thee,  how  oft  would  I  have 
gathered  thy  children  together,  even  as  a  hen  gathereth  her 
chickens  under  her  wings,  and  ye  would  not!'1  Matthew  XXIII. 
-37. 

It  is  a  wail  as  of  a  broken-hearted  father  over  a  lost  child. 

A  heart  cleansed  from  transgression  and  freed  from  its  prone- 
ness  to  evil,  is  a  good  thing:  yet  there  is  no  security  until  back 
of  it,  as  arbiter  and  master,  stand  an  enlightened  spiritual 
understanding,  and  a  will  strong  to  say  No,  in  the  hour  when 
evil  shall  present  Itself. 

Can  man,  then,  of  himself,  strengthen  this  spiritual  will 
power  for  good,  rather  than  evil? 

There  is  no  reason  to  suppose 

that  he  cannot:  there  is  much  reason  to  suppose  that  he  can. 
No  fact  in  psychology  is  better  established  than  this,  that  will 
power  may  be  cultivated  the  same  as  memory,  or  any  other 
faculty  of  the  mind.  The  man  who  in  his  business  is  weak  to 
say  No,  and  who  by  his  weak  complaisance  embarrasses  himself  in 
his  finances,  learns  after  a  while  to  say  No,  and  to  be  firm. 
The  man  who  finds  himself  in  danger  from  a  growing  appetite, 
and  who,  even  without  any  pretense  to  religion  as  a  motive 
force,  begins  to  say  No,  to  the  craving,  learns,  as  the  days  go 
by,  that  his  power  to  say  No,  is  increasing.  His  will  power  -is 
now  growing  stronger  by  resisting,  just  as  it  was  before  grow- 
ing weaker  by  yielding.  Is  there  any  reason  to  suppose  that 
the  law  of  growth  which  holds  good  in  all  other  uses  of  the  will 
power,  fails  to  hold  good  in  spiritual  matters? 

The  inquiry  brings  us  again  to  the  fact  that  God's  laws  are 
general  in  character,  rather  than  special. 

Yet  there  are  cases  where  the  will  power  has  become  weak- 
ened, or  where  temptation  is  so  overpowering,  that  the  will 
stands  helpless,  paralyzed  in  the  presence  of  evil. 

And  with  the  ages  of  heredity  in  yielding  to  sin,  it  may  be 
questioned  whether  any  human  will,  unaided,  is  strong  enough 
for  the  battle  with  evil:  for  that  heredity  does  thus  affect  the 


HOLINESS    UNTO    THE    LORD.  96 

spiritual  will  power  is  shown  in  the  difference  of  resisting  force 
displayed  by  persons  of  different  moral  ancestry.  Is  there  help 
for  man  in  this  weakness? 

"Fear  thou  not:  for  I  am  with  thee: 

be  not  dismayed:  for  I  am  thy  God:  I  will  strengthen  thee: 
yea,  I  will  help  thee:  yea,  I  will  uphold  thee  with  the  right  hand 
of  my  righteousness."  Isaiah  XLI.-10. 

Yet,  man  must  will  to  ask,  for  God  cannot  step  over  the  line 
of  that  freedom  of  will,  even  to  help  in  the  hour  of  peril,  unless 
man  requests  it.  He  must  respect  his  own  law. 

Does  God  give  the  same  help  to  all? 

The  Scriptures  do  not 

say.  But  again,  what  does  the  earthly  father  do?  Does  each 
child  receive  the  same  care,  the  same  watchfulness,  the  same  help? 
Does  he  not  rather  give  to  each  according  to  its  needs: — for  no 
two  of  his  children  are  alike  in  natural  ability,  in  acquirements, 
in  the  need  of  help.  To  the  strong  child  he  gives  little  help;  a 
word  here  and  there:  the  hand  sometimes  stretched  out.  For 
the  weaker  one  he  does  more.  And  the  poor,  deformed  cripple, 
the  sorrow  of  the  household — over  him  he  watches  with  a  care 
that  never  lets  a  burden  settle  down  without  the  father's  out- 
stretched hand  to  help:  even  carries  him  in  his  arms. 

How  would  God,  as  a  kind  Father  naturally  do  with  his 
spiritual  children?  for,  "Like  as  a  father  pitieth  his  children,  so 
the  Lord  pitieth  them  that  fear  him.  For  he  knoweth  our  frame: 
he  rernembereth  that  we  are  dust."  Psalm  CIII.-13.  14. 

Children  of  God— some  spiritually  strong  by  heredity  and 
surroundings;  —  some  weak,  Oh,  so  weak: — some  as  the  crip- 
pled, halting,  feeble  one  to  whom  the  father's  hand  is  ever 
stretched  out  in  help.  Is  God  less  thoughtful,  less  considerate 
of  these  little  ones?  Oh,  "like  as  a  father  pitieth  his  child- 
ren!" 


VII. 


ROADMARKS  ALONG  THE  "WAY  OF  HOLINESS. 


Do  the  Scriptures  give  any  waymarks  by  which  a  soul 
may  judge  of  its  own  growth  in  this  life  of  Holiness  unto 
the  Lord? 

Yes:—    "Sanctify  them   in   (<fv)    the  truth."    John 
XVII.-17. 

"And  I  will  pray  the  Father,  and  he  shall  give  you  another 
Comforter,  that  he  may  abide  with  you  forever:  even  the 
Spirit  of  truth."  John  XIV.-16,  17. 

"Howbeit,  when  he,  the  Spirit  of  truth  is  come,  he  will  guide 
you  into  all  truth."  John  XVI.-13. 

But  the  fruit  of  the  Spirit  (the  Spirit  of  the  foregoing 
texts)  is  love,  joy,  peace,  long  suffering,  gentleness,  goodness, 
faith,  meekness,  temperance:  against  such  there  is  no  law." 
Galatians  V.-22,  23. 

The  soul  which  recognizes  the  growth  of  these  fruits  in 
itself  may  thank  God,  and  take  courage.  The  soul  which  fails 
to  find  them  in^itself  may  well  mistrust  that  somehow  it  has 
mistaken  the  way.  For  Christ  laid  down  the  general  law, 
"Even  so  every  good  tree  bringeth  forth  good  fruit;  but  a  corrupt 
( (raTrpov— bad )  tree  bringeth  forth  evil  fruit.  A  good  tree  can- 
not bring  forth  evil  fruit,  neither  can  a  corrupt  (bad)  tree  bring 
forth  good  fruit,"  Matthew  VII.-17,  18. 

And  he  adds  the  general  caution,  "Wherefore  by  their 
fruits  ye  shall  know  them."  Verse  20. 

Do  the  Scriptures  set  up  any  absolute  standard  by  which 


98  HOLINESS   UNTO   THE   LORD. 

one  person  may  judge  another  in  this  life  of  "Holiness  unto 
the  Lord"? 

I  fail  to  find  any  such  standard  anywhere  set  forth  by 
the  Scriptures,  or  any  authority  for  the  setting  up  of  a  stand- 
ard. It  would  seem  rather  to  be  as  a  land  in  which  each  soul 
must  walk  alone  with  God.  And  if  that  soul  can  say,  "It  is 
peace  between  me  and  my  God,"  I  fail  to  find  any  warrant  in 
the  Scriptures  for  another  to  question  or  deny.  We  may  only 
infer  as  we  see  evidence  of  the  fruits  of  the  Spirit  in  the  life. 

"So  then,  every  one  of  us  shall  give  account  of  himself  to 
God.  Let  us  not  therefore  judge  one  another  any  more;  but 
judge  this  rather,  that  no  man  put  a  stumbling  block,  or  an 
occasion  to  fall,  in  his  brother's  way."  Romans  XIV.-12,  13. 

Have  the  Scriptures  given  any  test  by  which  one  may  know 
absolutely  that  he  has  passed  the  point  where  the  power  of 
evil  is  at  last  forever  broken,  and  he  stands  free  and  beyond 
peril  of  fall? 

I  fail  to  find  any  such  standard,  anywhere  given  in  the 
Scriptures.  They  simply  do  not  say.  But  I  find  Christ's  injunc- 
tion to  his  disciples,  "Watch  and  pray,  lest  ye  enter  into 
temptation,"  repeated  as  a  warning  cry  everywhere  through 
the  epistles  to  the  churches.  And  the  injunction  and  promise: — 

"He  that  hath  an  ear,  let  him  hear  what  the  Spirit  saith 
unto  the  churches:  He  that  overcometh  shall  not  be  hurt  of 
the  second  death."  Rev.  II.--11. 

WATCH  AND  PRAY. 


ROADMARKS    ALONG    THE    "WAY    OF    HOLINESS."  99 

SUMMING  UP. 

That  a  time  comes  in  the  life  of  a  redeemed  soul  when  the 
last  sin  has  been  committed,  when  the  soul  at  last  walks 
with  God,  fully  emancipated  from  the  power  of  evil,  the  vie" 
tory  won,  walks  at  last  in  the  fulness  of  "the  liberty  where- 
with Christ  has  made  us  free,"  we  must  believe,  as  we  believe 
in  the  completeness  of  the  scheme  of  redemption. 

That  this  state  is  to  come  suddenly,  or  as  the  direct  and 
unconditional  gift  of  God,  without  effort  or  adequate  struggle 
upon  man's  part,  I  find  no  warrant  in  the  Scriptures  for 
believing. 

That  it  is  to  come  through  a  season  of  testing  and  battling, 
wherein  man  works  together  with  God  for  the  final  victory 
the  New  Covenant  record  teaches  clearly  and  continually. 

That,  of  the  time  when  this  work  may  be  finally  completed 
in  any  particular  soul,  the  Scriptures  give  no  human  warrant 
for  judging:  and  in  the  absence  of  such  warrant  I  can  only  con- 
clude that  God  has  withheld  authority  to  so  judge.  It  is  meet, 
therefore,  that  I  should  leave  this  point  to  be  passed  upon  by 
God  alone,  I  having  no  authority  or  right  to  say  to  another, 
"The  work  is  now  finished,  and  you  are  freed  from  the  power, 
of  sin:"  or  to  say  of  another,  so  claiming,  and  whose  life  is  not 
inconsistent  with  the  claim,  that  he  is  mistaken  or  self-deceived. 
These  questions  must  be  settled  by  each  human  soul  for  itself 
alone  with  God. 

That  to  the  end  of  emancipation  from  the  power  of  evil  a 
heart  change  alone  is  not  enough,  but  that  in  addition  to  this, 
there  must  be  an  understanding  enlightened  in  spiritual  matters 
to  rightly  discern  between  good  and  evil,  and  a  will  strength- 
ened to  will  to  do  good  and  not  evil.  That  is,  the  whole  man, 
not  simply  a  part,  must  be  sanctified. 

That  to  this  end  God  works  together  with  man:  man  works 
together  with  God.  And  the  end  is,  the  power  of  evil  at  last 
broken,  and  a  soul  that  is  Holy  unto  the  Lord. 

But  the  question  may  here  also  be  asked,  as  it  was  of  the 
WAY  OF  LIFE,  Will  all  men,  will  most  men  even,  clearly  see, 


100  HOLINESS    UNTO    THE    LORD. 


and  understandingly  follow,  the  successive  steps  of  this  way  of 
Holiness  unto  the  Lord.1*  And  i again"  the  answer  must  be,  No. 
Nor,  again,  have  we  reason  to  suppose  it  to  be  essential  that, 
they  should.  For,  as  there  said,  men  are  little  skilled  to 
analyze,  and  give  name  to,  the  successive  stages  of  their  own 
spiritual  experience.  They  only  knowjthat  as  the  years  went 
by  after  they  had  given  themselves  to  God,  a  deeper  longing 
grew  up  within  them  for  a  nearness  to  God,  and  for  a  power 
to  withstand  evil,  such  as  they  had  not  yet  found.  And  they 
struggled  on,  watching,  praying,  loving,  trusting.  And  then 
some  glad  day,  as  one  who  has  toiled  up  the' mountain  side, 
they  looked  back;  and  lo,  the  world  was  beneath  their  feet; 
and  above,  around,  only  God's  pure  skies;  and  at  last  it  was 
peace,  that  peace  of  God  which  passeth  understanding.  And  at 
last  they  walked  with  God,  to  go  out  from  his  presence  again 
no  more. 


BEYOND. 

"After  this  I  beheld,  and,  lo,  a  great  multitude,  which  no 
man  could  number,  of  all  nations,  and_kindreds,  and  peoples, 
and  tongues,  stood  before  the  throne,  and  before  the  Lamb, 
clothed  with  white  robes,  and  palms  in  their  hands;  and  cried 
with  a  loud  voice,  saying,  Salvation  to  our  God  which  sitteth 
upon  the  throne,  and  unto  the  Lamb." 

"And    one    of  the   elders 

answered,  saying  unto  me,  What  are  these  which  are  arrayed 
in  white  robes?  and  whence  came  they?" 

"And   Ijsaid  unto  him, 

Sir,  thou  knowest.  And  he  said  unto  me,  These  are  they  which 
came  out  of  great  tribulation,  and  have  washed  their  robes, 
and  made  them  white  in  the  blood  of  the  Lamb.  Therefore  are 
they  before  the  throne  of  God,  and  serve^him  day  and  night  in 
his  temple:  and  he  that  sitteth  on  the  throne  shall  dwell  among 
them.  They  shall  hunger  no  more,  neither  thirst  any 
more:  neither  shall  the  sun  light  on  them,  nor  any  heat.  For 
the  Lamb  which  is  in  the  midst  of  the  throne  shall  feed  them, 
and  shall  lead  them  unto  living  fountains  of  waters:  and  God 
shall  wipe  away  all  tears  from  their  eyes."  Rev.  VII.-9,  17. 

AMEN. 


THE  INDWELLING  SPIRIT. 


"Know  ye  not  that  ye  are  the  temple  of  God,  and  that  the 
Spirit  of  God  dwelleth  in  you?"    I.  Corinth.  III. 16. 


I. 


THE  HOLY  SPIRIT— WHAT  IS  MEANT  BY  THE 
TERM. 

When  Christ's  disciples  were  gathered  about  him  that  night 
of  the  last  supper,  with  hearts  heavy  over  the  coming  separa- 
tion, he  said  to  them, 

"I  will  pray  the  Father,  and   he  shall 

give  you  another  Comforter,  that  he  may  abide  with  you  for- 
ever, even  the  Spirit  of  truth:  whom  the  world  cannot  receive, 
because  it  s«eth  him  not,  neither  knoweth  him:  but  ye  know 
him,  for  he  dwelleth  with  you,  and  shall  be  in  you."  John 
XIV.-16,  17. 

And  of  this  Comforter  he  says  by  way  of  identification, 

"But  the  Comforter,  which  is  the  Holy  Ghost,  whom  the 
Father  will  send  in  my  name,  he  shall  teach  you  all  things,  and 
bring  all  things  to  your  remembrance,  whatsoever  I  have  said 
unto  you."  John  XIV.-26. 

What  is  the  Holy  Ghost?  This  which  is  spoken  of  by  Christ 
as  an  entity,  a  personality,  and  which  is  to  have  to  do  with 
man  as  comforter  and  teacher  and  guide? 

It    is    well 

first  to  analyze  and  define  the  name  itself.  The  English  word 
ghost  is  a  word  which,  like  many  other  words  in  the  language 
has,  in  the  years,  drifted  and  narrowed  from  its  original  mean- 
ing. It  is  the  Old  English  gast,  the  German  geist,  and  means 
simply  spirit.  The  corresponding  word  in  the  Vulgate,  from 
which  the  King  James  translation  was  essentially  made,  is  the 
Latin  spiritus,  from  which  we  have  our  word  spirit.  The  Greek 
is  Trveiyxa  (TTI/CW,  to  blow,  breathe),  which  as  the  Latin  spiritus 
(spiro,  to  breathe,  blow)  has  as  a  primary  substantive  meaning 


104  THE  INDWELLING  SPIRIT. 

the  air.  In  its  secondary  meaning  it  was  applied  to  that  intan- 
gible part  of  man  which,  in  contradistinction  to  the  more 
knowable  body  we  call  spirit.  In  like  manner  it  came  to  be 
applied  to  incorporeal  beings  not  cognizable  to  man's  bodily 
senses.  Through  the  changing  which  is  ever  going  on  in  lan- 
guage the  word  has  come  in  popular  usage,  to  mean  an 
apparition. 

Because  of  this  drifting  and  narrowing  of  the  word 
ghost,  the  American  translators  of  the  Revised  Version  very 
properly  preferred  to  substitute  the  word  spirit  for  the  word 
ghost  in  the  whole  New  Testament.  The  conservatism  of  the 
English  members  of  the  board  of  revisers  overruled  this,  how- 
ever, and  in  many  of  the  the  places  where  the  word  occurs 
insisted  upon  the  retention  of  the  word  ghost. 

In  this  essay  it  is  to  be  remembered,  then,  that  the  term 
Holy  Ghost  simply  means  Holy  Spirit.  It  is  also  to  be  borne 
in  mind  that  the  terms,  "the  Comforter,"  "the  Holy  Ghost," 
"the  Spirit  of  truth,"  as  shown  in  the  two  texts  from  John  as 
already  quoted,  are  simply  different  names  for  the  same  entity, 
and  that  whatever  attributes  may  pertain  to  the  one  pertain 
equally  to  all. 


What  is  the  position  of  the  Holy  Spirit  in  the  divinity? 

That  it  is  a  position  of  importance  is  shown  in  the  fact 
that  the  Spirit  is  to  come  to  man  as  Christ's  successor:— 

"And 

I  will  pray  the  Father,    and    he    shall    give    you    another  Com- 
forter: that  he  may  abide  with  you  forever."    John  XIV.-16. 

"But  the  Comforter,  which  is  the  Holy  Ghost,  whom  the 
Father  will  send  in  my  name."  John  XIV.-26. 

"But  when  the  Comforter  is  come,  whom  I  will  send  unto 
you  from  the  Father."  John  XV.-26. 

Christ  still  further  recognizes  the  intimate  relationship  of 
the  Holy  Spirit  to  Father  and  Son  in  the  commission  to  the 
disciples:— 

"Go  ye,  therefore,  and  teach  all  nations,  baptizing 
them  in  the  name  of  the  Father,  and  of  the  Son,  and  of  the 
Holy  Ghost."  Matth.  XXVIII.-I9. 

I.  John  V-7,  would,  if  authentic,  be  sufficient  alone  upon 
the  point  of  the  position  of  the  Holy  Spirit  in  the  divinity,  but 


THE    HOLY   SPIRIT— WHAT  IS   MEANT   BY  THE   TERM.  105 

this  verse,  although  given  in  the  Vulgate,  and  inserted  in 
brackets  in  the  Codex  Vaticanus,  and  coming  to  the  King  James 
translation  from  the  Vulgate,  is  so  universally  lacking  in  the 
older  Greek  manuscripts  that  it  is  very  properly  omitted  from 
the  Revised  Version.  Yet  the  existence  of  the  Holy  Spirit  as  an 
entity,  and  as  an  admitted  and  integral  part  of  the  divinity,  is 
shown  by  the  texts  already  quoted,  and  by  many  others  as 
found  throughout  the  New  Testament  record.  And  the  only 
legitimate  inference  which  can  be  drawn  from  the  commission 
to  baptize  "in  the  name  of  the  Father,  and  of  the  Son,  and  of 
the  Holy  Ghost,"  is  that  the_relationship  is  one  of  union  in  the 
Godhead. 


II. 


THE    HOLY   SPIRIT    UNDER    THE    OLD 
DISPENSATION. 


WAS  THE  HOLY  SPIRIT  KNOWN  TO  "MAN  UNDER  THE  OLD  COVENANT 

DISPENSATION,  AND  BEFORE  THAT,   DURING  THE 

PATRIARCHAL  ERA? 

The  Old  Testament  record  has  in  it  36  clearly  expressed 
passages  which  speak  of  the  "Spirit  of  God."  Sometimes  the 
wording  is,  "The  Spirit  of  God,"  sometimes,  "The  Spirit  of  the 
Lord;"  sometimes  the  wording  is  "My  Spirit,"  but  with  the 
context  showing  that  the  pronoun  "my"  refers  to  God.  The 
work  of  this  spirit  is  varied  In  some  of  the  cases  it  is  God's 
Spirit  striving  with  man.  See  Genesis  VI.-3.  In  some,  it*is  the 
Spirit  coming  upon  man  for  some  specific  purpose,  as  upon 
Balaam.  Numbers  XXIV.-2:  or  upon  Othniel,  Judges  III.-10: 
or  upon  David.  1.  Samuel  XVI.-13.  In  I.  Samuel  XVI.-14,  it  is 
the  Spirit  of  the  Lord  abandoning  Saul.  In  Ezekiel  incomes  as 
a  Spirit  of  prophecy. 

In  Isaiah  LXI.-l,  it  is  foretold  prophetically  of  the~coming 
of  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord  God  upon  the  Christ  for  his  commis- 
sion as  preacher  of  good  tidings. 

In  Ezekiel  XXXVI.-27,  it  is'promised  to  men  as  that'which 
is  to  be  put  within  them  in  the  new'dispensation.  In  Joel  II.- 
28,  it  is  foretold  as  that  which  is  to  be  poured  out^upon  all 
flesh. 

But  is  "the  Spirit  of  God,"  "the  Spirit  of  the  Lord,"  "My 
Spirit,"  as  thus  spoken  of  in  the  Old  Testament  record,  the  same 
as  the  "Holy  Spirit,"  the  "Holy  Ghost,"  as  spoken  of  in  the 
New  Testament  record? 

The  point  might  be  assumed  as  true, 
and  probably  few,  if  any,    would    dispute  it.      We    can    hardly 


THE   HOLY   SPIRIT   UNDER   THE   OLD   DISPENSATION.  107 

conceive  of  two  "Spirits  of  God"  in  the  divinity.  It  would  be 
to  set  aside  all  of  our  recognized  Biblical  teachings  upon  the 
nature  of  the  Godhead.  Yet  that  there  may  be  no  possibility  of 
caviling,  it  may  be  well  to  take  the  testimony  of  the  Scriptures 
upon  this  point  also. 

The  Greek  translation    of  the    Hebrew 

Old  Testament,  which  was  made  among  the  Alexandrian  Jews 
in  the  third  century  before  Christ,  for  their  own  use,  as  the 
Hebrew  had  become  to  them  a  dead  language,  and  which 
because  of  the  popular  fable  that  it  had  been  made  by  a  com- 
mission of  seventy-two  Jewish  scholars,  appointed  by  Ptolemy 
II.  became  known  as  the  Septuagint,  is  a  connecting  link 
between  old  and  new  in  the  bibliology  of  the  Scriptures. 

Like  the  Latin  of  the  early  Italic  texts  wh/ch  grew  up  in 
the  2d  century  after  Christ,  and  of  the  Vulgate  of  Jerome  of  the 
4th  century,  it  has  scarcely  received  the  attention  to  which  it  is 
entitled  in  Biblical  study,  especially  as  both  the  Latin  and  the 
Septuagint  Greek  long  antedate  any  of  the  existing  copies  of  the 
Hebrew  or  of  the  Apostolic  Greek. 

The  great  value  of  the  Septuagint 

in  Biblical  research  lies,  not  simply  in  the  fact  that  it  gives  a 
side  light,  from  Jewish  sources,  as  early  as  the  3d  century  before 
Christ,  upon  their  own  Scriptures,  but  in  the  more  important 
fact  that  it  is  the  copy  of  the  Old  Testament  Scriptures  which 
was  commonly  in  use  among  the  New  Testament  writers,  and 
that  their  quotations  from  the  Old  Testament  record  are  largely, 
if  not  entirely  from  it  rather  than  from  the  Hebrew  text:  and 
in  the  additional  and  exceedingly  important  fact  that  it  supplied 
to  them  ready  made,  much  of  the  sacred  phraseology  used  by 
them. 

Now  apply  these  facts  to  the  topic  under  discussion.  It 
gives  us  a  ready  means  of  tracing  the  historical  development  oi 
the  nomenclature  of  the  Holy  Spirit  from  the  Old  Testament 
record  to  the  New,  and  is  a  valuable  means  of  identification. 

In  the  36  cases,  as  already  instanced,  in  which  "The  Spirit 
of  God,"  as  dealing  with  men,  is  mentioned  in  the  Old  Testa- 
ment record,  the  Hebrew  word  in  every  case  is  Ruwach,  with 
a  verbal  primitive  meaning,  to  blow,  to  breath,  and  with  a 
substantive  meaning  of  wind,  breath,  and  a  secondary  mean- 
ing of  spirit.  In  this  respect  it  stands  side  by  side 
with  the  Latin  spiritus  and  the  Greek  Trvev/xa  as  already 


108  THE  INDWELLING  SPIRIT. 

given.  In  every  single  one  of  the  36  cases  just  mentioned  the 
Hebrew  Ruwach  is  translated  in  the  Septuagint  by  the  Greek 
word  TrvevfJM'-  and  this  same  Trvev/xa  is  the  one,^and^the  only 
word  used  in  the  New  Testament  Greek  of  the  Gospels,  of  Acts, 
and  of  the  Epistles  to  designate  the  Holy  Spirit,  the  ayios 
(holy)  being  added  to  it  adjectively.  Verbal  proof  could  hardly 
be  stronger  as  to  the  identity,  in  the  minds  of  the  sacred  writ- 
ers, of  the  Old  Testament  "Spirit  of  God"  and  the  New  Testa- 
ment "Holy  Spirit." 

Yet    we    are    not    left   to    this  method  of 

identification  alone.  Peter  definitely  confirms  this  identity  of 
the  two  in  Acts  II.-1G,  17,  18,  when  he  says, 

"But  this  is  that 

which  was  spoken  by  the  prophet  Joel,  And  it  shall  come  to 
pass  in  the  last  days,  saith  God,  I  will  pour  out  of  my  Spirit  upon 
all  flesh:  and  your  sons  and  your  daughters  shall  prophesy, 
and  your  young  men  shall  see  visions,  and  your  old^men  shall 
dream  dreams:  and  on  my  servants  and  on  my  handmaidens  I 
will  pour  out  in  those  days  of  my  Spirit;" 

And  this  he  is  say- 
ing of  the  scene  described  in  Acts  II.-4,  where  it  is  stated, 

"And 

they  were  all  filled  with  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  began  to  speak 
with  other  tongues,  as  the  Spirit  gave  them  utteranqe." 

And 

Peter  still  further  identifies  the  New  with  the  Old  in  verses  38 
and  39  of  the  same  chapter,  when  to  the  people  who  had 
gathered  about  in  amazement  at  the  strange  scene,  he  says, 

"Repent  and  be  baptized  every  one  of  you  in  the  name  of 
Jesus  Christ  for  the  remission  of  sins,  and  ye  shall  receive  the 
gift  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  For  the  promise  (Joel  II.-28),  is  unto 
you  and  your  children,  and  to  all  that  are  afar  off,  even  as 
many  as^the  Lord  our  God  shall  call." 

(See  also  for  the  promise,  Isaiah  XLIV.— 3:  Ezekiel  XXXVI. 
-27:  and  Acts  XXVIII-25  for  Paul's  confirmation  of  the  identity 
of  the  two. 

Was  the  Holy  Spirit  known  to,  and  actively  present  among 
men  after  the  Christ  coming,  and  before  that  night  of  the  last 
supper  when  Christ  gives  the  promise  of  his  coming? 

Yes.    In  Luke 


THE  HOLY  SPIRIT  UNDER  THE  OLD    DISPENSATION.  109 

I.— 15,  the  angel  tells  Zacharias  that  John,  the  son  that  is  to  be 
born  to  him,  shall  "be  filled  with  the  Holy  Ghost."  In  verse 
41,  Elizabeth  is  "filled  with  the  Holy  Ghost,"  and  prophesies. 
In  verse  67  it  is  said,  "Zacharias  was  filled  with  the  Holy  Ghost 
and  prophesied."  In  Luke  II.-25,  26,  27,"it*is*said  of  Simeon, 
"And  the  Holy  Ghost  was  upon  him.  And  it  was'revealed  unto 
him  by  the  Holy  Ghost,^that  he  should  not  see"death  before  he 
had  seen  the  Lord's  Christ  (Xptcrros — anointed).  And'he  came 
by  the  Spirit  into  the  temple." 


III. 

THE   HOLY  SPIRIT   UNDER    THE   NEW 
DISPENSATION. 

If,  then,  the  Holy  Spirit  was  known  to  men,  and  worked 
among  them  under  the  Old  Covenant  dispensation,  and  if  it  was 
also  known  and  active  among  men  at  the  time  of  Christ's 
birth,  and  during  his  life  time,  How  does  Christ  that  night  of 
the  last  supper  promise  to  his  disciples  the  coming  of  the  Holy 
Spirit  as  though  it  were  a  new  thing-  among  men?  For  he 
says:— 

"I  will  pray  the  Father,  and  he  shall  give  you  another 
Comforter,  that  he  may  abide  with  you  forever,  even  the  Spirit 
of  truth."  JohnXIV.-16,  17. 

And  again,  "But  when  the  Comforter  is  come,  whom  I  will 
send  unto  you  from  the  Father,  even  the  Spirit  of  truth." 
John  XV.-26. 

And  again: — 

It  is  expedient  for  you  that  I  go  away:  for  if 
I  go  not  away,  the  Comforter  will  not  come  unto  you:  but  if  I 
depart,  I  will  send  him  unto  you."  John  XVI. -7. 

How  are  these  apparently  conflicting  facts  and  statements 
to  be  reconciled  with  each  other?  for  the  Scriptures  must  be 
consistent  with  themselves. 

The    only    possible    explanation 

which  can  be  given  would  be  that  this  new  coming  of  the  Holy 
Spirit,  of  which  Christ  speaks,  is  a  coming  simply  in  a  new 
capacity  or  relationship,  or  both,  and  not  as  a  new  entity. 

Do  the  Scriptures  contain  any  authority  for  such  an  explan- 
ation? In  answer  we  have  a  text  which  like  Paul's  famous 
words,  quoted  in  the  essay,  "THE  WAY  OF  LIFE,"  stands  as  a 
great  basic  fact  in  our  knowledge  of  the  relationship  of  the 
Holy  Spirit  to  man;  but  this  time  the  words  are  from  Christ 


THE    HOLY   SPIRIT  UNDER   THE   NEW   DISPENSATION.  Ill 

himself.  It  is  in  John  XIV.-17.  Christ  has  just  given  to  his 
disciples  the  promise  contained  in  verse  16,  "I  will  pray  the 
Father,  and  he  shall  give  you  another  Comforter,  that  he  may 
abide  (/x,ei/r/ — remain)  with  you  forever:  even  the  Spirit  of  truth, 
whom  the'  world  cannot  receive,  because  it  seeth  him  not: 
neither  knoweth  him,"  and  then  he  adds,  "but  ye  know  him: 
for  he  dwelleth  with  (nap  vfuv}  you  and  shall  be  in  (cv  fytTv) 
row." 

Analyze  the  text,  "Ye  know  him."  How  could  they  know 
him  if  he  was  not  yet  come?  The  inference  is  that  he  is  already 
come;  and  this  the  Scriptures,  as  before  shown,  confirm. 

"He  dwelleth  with  (nap  v/uv)  you."  He  is  already  about 
you,  and  with  you,  even  as  one  dwelling  with  another:  —  but, 
"He  shall  be  in  (ej/  vfuv}  you." 

"Dwelleth  with"— 'shall  be  in"  Are  we  to  suppose  that 
Christ's  words  are  a  mere  tautology,  a  needless  repetition  of 
the  same  thought  in  different  forms? 

This  cannot  be,  for  not  only  was  Christ  not  wont  to  speak 
thus  needlessly  and  redundantly,  but  the  wording  of  the  two 
expressions  conveys  two  separate  and  distinct  meanings  which, 
with  evident  purpose,  are  here  placed  in  contrast.  The  two 
Greek  prepositions  made  use  of  are  radically  and  totally  unlike 
in  meaning  Trap'  i.  e.  napd,  with:  ev,  in.  A  change  in  the  char, 
acter  of  the  relationship  of  the  Holy  Spirit  to  man  is  here  clearly 
set  forth:  so  clearly  that  no  man  can  doubt,  or  fail  to  see,  who 
takes  Christ  to  mean  what  he  says. 

"Dwelleth  with'1— "shall  be  in."  The  Spirit  of  God  which 
has  been  striving  with  man,  which  has  been  as  a  warning  voice 
to  him  in  his  sins,  which  has  been  crying  "Repent,  Repent,"  by 
voice  of  prophet,  of  inspired  word,  of  accusing  conscience,  and 
which,  if  the  man  heeded  not,  would  not  always  striye  with 
him  (Genesis  VI.— 3),  but  which,  when  he  showed  that  he  was  bent 
upon  evil  ways,  would  depart  from  him  (I.  Samuel  XVL— 14), 
and  which,  when  he  joined  himself  to  idols,  would  "let  him 
alone,"  (Hosea  IV.-17),  this  Spirit  which  has  dwelt  with  man 
is  now  promised  to  God's  regenerated  people  as  an  ever  present, 
/^dwelling  guide,  and  teacher,  and  Comforter,  which  shall  not 
depart,  but  is  to  remain  (//.el/to)  with  them  forever. 


But  why  does  Christ,    as    he    speaks    of  this  coming  of  the 


112  THE   INDWELLING   SPIRIT. 

Holy  Spirit  to  the  more  intimate  relationship  of  indwelling  in 
man,  say:— 

"It  is  expedient  for  you  that  I  go  away;  for  if 
I  go  not  away,  the  comforter  will  not  come  unto  you:  but  if 
I  depart,  I  will  send  him  unto  you."  John  XVI— 7. 

The  word  "for"  in  the  text  shows  that  the  coming  of  the 
Holy  Spirit  is  conditioned  upon  the  antecedent  going  away  of 
Christ:  yet  no  adequate  reason  is  apparent  in  the  text  as  it 
stands.  The  question  at  once  arises,  Does  the  English  transla- 
tion give  the  full  meaning  of  the  Greek?  The  Greek  verb  for  the 
two  wordings  "go  away"  and  "depart"  in  the  text  is  in  each 
case  dWA^o).  It  has  been  translated  differently  for  the  sake  of 
euphony,  simply  to  vary  the  expression. 

It  is  a  compound  word  meaning  literally  and  primarily,  as 
translated,  "to  go  away,"  "to  depart"  —  but  it  means  more 
than  this.  A  secondary  meaning  is  to  die.  (See  Liddell  and 
Scott's  Greek  lexicon.) 

We  have  the  same  idiom  in  English,  as  when  we  speak  of 
those  dead  as  "the  departed." 

Now  read  the  text  again:— 

"It  is  expedient  for  you  that  I 

die  (direA.0ci>):  for  if  I  die  (aTre'A&o)  not  the  Comforter  will  not 
come  unto  you:  but  if  I  go  (Greek,  7ropev$o> — metaphorically  to 
depart  from  life;  see  Thayer's  lexicon,  "7ro/oevo>,  — b,")  I  will  send 
him  unto  you." 

With  the  full  meaning  of  the  Greek,  it  becomes 
now  apparent  that  the  coming  of  the  Holy  Spirit  to  dwell  in 
man  is  conditioned,  not  upon  the  mere  departure  of  Christ  as 
an  antecedent,  but  because  of  that  which  is  implied  in  the 
going,  namely,  his  death.  And  again  the  question  arises,  Why? 

Why  could  the  Holy  Spirit  dwell  with  man  before  Christ's 
death,  but  can  only  dwell  in  man  after,  and  because  of,  his 
death? 

The  explanation  lies  manifestly  along  the  line  of  the  thought 
that  the  scheme  of  salvation  is  an  orderly  one,  and  each  succes- 
sive step  must  come  in  its  logical  consecutive  place;  neither 
before  nor  afttr.  The  way  had  to  be  prepared  for  the  Christ 
coming;  hence  John's  mission,  and  his  warning  cry,  "Prepare  ye 
the  way  of  the  Lord-"  not  simply  for  his  coming  but,  "Make 
his  paths  straight,"  the  pathway  of  his  work  after  he  comes. 
How?  By  "repentance  unto  (€ts  —  to  the  end  of)  remission  of 


THE    HOLY   SPIRIT   UNDER   THE   NEW   DISPENSATION.  113 

sins."  Mark  I. -4.  In  like  manner  must  the  way  be  prepared 
for  the  indwelling  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  Paul  says  to  the  church 
at  Corinth,  "Know  ye  not  that  ye  are  the  temple  of  God,  and 
that  the  Spirit  of  God  dwelleth  in  you?"  I.  Corinth.  Ill— 16. 

But  could  the  Spirit  of  God  dwell  in  an  unclean  temple? 

Paul  answers  this  thought  in  the  next  verse  when  he  says, 
"for  the  temple  of  God  is  holy,  which  temple  ye  are,"  and  pref- 
aces this  by  the  statement  that  "If  any  man  defile  the  temple 
of  God,  him  shall  God  destroy."  I.  Corinth.  III.-17. 

How  has  thisjtemple  been  redeemed  from  the  uncleanness  of 
sin? 

John  answered  this  when  he  wrote,  "the  blood  of  Jesus 
Christ,  his^Sonfcleanseth  us  from  all  sin"  (djoapTcixs,  transgres- 
sion). It  is  all  a  picture  of  the  Holy  Spirit  of  God  coming  to 
dwell  in  a  tempU  which  has  been  cleansed  for  his  indwelling, 
cleansed  by  the  blood  of  that  sacrifice  on  Calvary.  For  God 
cannot  dwell  in  an  unclean  temple.  The  Old  Law  is  full  of  this 
thought.  The  house  wherein  God  is  to  dwell  must  be  free  from 
all  uncleanness,  puie,  holy.  And  so  of  the  temple  in  man  for 
the  indwelling  of  the  Holy  Spirit  of  God,  The  law  is  not  ful- 
filled, and  sin  is  not  legally  washed  away,  until  the'offering  up 
of  Christ,  the  true  sacrifice,  upon  Calvary.  Hence  Christ  says, 
"It  is  expedient'for  you  that  I  go  away  (  a,7re'A.0w  —  die),  for 
if  I  go  not  away  (  obreA^w  )  the  Comforter  will  not  come 
unto  you."  John  XYL— 7:  for  his  coming  is  to  be  an  indwell- 
ing, and  the  temple  is  not  yet  cleansed  for  his  presence. 
V 
\ 


A 


IV. 
THE   OFFICE   OF   THE   HOLY  SPIRIT. 


WHAT  IS  TO  BE  THE  ESPECIAL  CHARACTER  OF   THE  NEW   OFFICE   OF 
THE  HOLY  SPIRIT  AS  THUS  INDWELLING  IN  MAN? 

All  the  information  we  haye  upon  this  subject  comes  from 
Christ  himself,  and  is  found  in  his  words  to  :he  twelve  disciples 
the  night  of  the  Last  Supper,  as  recorded  br  John  in  Chapters 
XIV.,  XV.  and  XVI.  As  complementary  to  this  we  have  the 
record  of  the  subsequent  working  of  the  Holy  Spirit  in  the 
hearts  of  men,  as  given  in  Acts,  and  the  various  Epistles. 

In  John  XIV. 

-16,  Christ  speaks  of  the  Holy  Spirit  as  the  "Comforter," 
(TrapdKXrjTos  —  helper,  intercessor,  comforter :  from  TrapaKaXfw, 
primarily  to  call  to  the  aid  of:  secondary  meaning,  to  console, 
to  comfort).  This  intercessor,  helper,  comforter,  is  to  take  the 
place  of  Christ  to  them,  not  as  sacrifice,  but  as  counsellor, 
helper,  ever-present  friend,  when  Christ  shall  have  gone  from 
them.  It  is  in  accordance  with  this  phase  of  the  Holy  Spirit's 
work  that  Paul  says: — 

"Likewise  the  Spirit  also  helpeth  our 

infirmities;"  and  again,  in  the  same  verse,  "The  Spirit  itself 
maketh  intercession  for  us."  Romans  VIII.-26. 

In  Acts  IX.-31,  it  is  said:— 

"Then  had  the  churches  rest 

throughout  all  Judea  and  Galilee  and  Samaria,  and  were  edified: 
and  walking  in  the  fear  of  the  Lord,  and  in  the  comfort  of  the 
Holy  Ghost,  were  multiplied." 

In  John  XIV.-17,  Christ  speaks  of  the  Holy  Ghost  as  "The 
Spirit  of  truth,"  and  further  says  in  XVI — 13,  as  descriptive  of 
its  work, 

"Howbeit,  when  he,  the  Spirit  of  truth,   is  come  he 


THE   OFFICE   OF  THE   HOLY  SPIRIT.  115 

will  guide  you  into  all  truth:  lor  he  shall  not  speak  of  himself 
(d<£'  eavTov  — from  himself):  but  whatsoever  he  shall  hear,  that 
shall  he  speak:  and  he  will  show  you  things  to  come." 

It  is 

in  the  thought  of  this  office  of  the  Holy  Spirit  manifestly,  that 
Paul  says  (I.  Corinth.  II.-9  to  14)  as  he  looks  back  to  the  days 
before  the  coming  of  the  Holy  Spirit  as  guide  into  all  truth, 

"But  as  it  is  written  (Isaiah  LXIV.4),  Eye  hath  not  seen, 
nor  ear  heard,  neither  have  entered  into  the  heart  of  man  the 
things  which  God  hath  prepared  for  them  that,  love  him." 

"But,"  Paul  cries  in  exultation,  as  the  thought  of  the 
contrast  between  the  old  days  when  men  walked  without  the 
guidance  of  the  Holy  Spirit  and  the  newer  days  of  his  presence 
with  them  comes  over  him  —  "But  unto  us  God  hath  revealed 
(ctTreKaAv^e  — made  known,  manifested)  them  by  his  Spirit:  for 
the  Spirit  searcheth  all  things,  yea,  the|deep  things  of  God." 

And  he  goes  on  to  say: — 

"Now    we    have   received    not 

the  spirit  of  the  world,  but  the  Spirit  which  is  of  God,  that  we 
might  know  the  things  that  are  freely  given  to  us  of  God." 

-Why  the  necessity  of  this  giving  of  the  Holy  Spirit  as  guide 
into  all  truth,  and  as  revealer  of  the  things  which  were  to 
come?  The  14th  verse*gives  the  explanation:— 

"But  the  natural 

man  receiveth  not  the  things  of  the  Spirit  of  God,  for  they  are 
foolishness  unto  him:  neither  can  he  know  them,  because  they 
are  spiritually  discerned." 

It  is  to  this  natural  man,  who  in  his 

soul  blindness  is  unable  to  perceive  and  take  in  spiritual  truth, 
that  the  Holy  Spirit  comes    as    illuminator    and  guide  into  the 
deep  truths  of  God;  and   he  walks  in  darkness  no  longer. 
In  John  XIV.-26,  Christ  says:— 

"But  the  Comforter,  which 

is  the  Holy  Ghost,  whom  the  Father  will  send  in  my  name,  he 
shall  teach  (Si8a£ei  —  8i8a<7KO);  to  instruct  in,  to  explain  to)  you 
all  things  and  bringjall^things  to  your  remembrance,  whatso- 
ever I  have  said~unto*you." 

The  promise  would,  upon  its  face, 

apparently,  be  more  immediately  to  the  little  band  of  disciples 
which  was  that  night  gathered  about  him,  and  who  were 
shortly  to  go  out  as  his  messengers  and  spokesmen,  after  he 


116  THE^INDWELLING  SPIRIT. 

shall  have  been  taken  from  them,  and  would  seem  to  refer  to 
their  fitting  for  the  work:  yet  that  it  had  a  wider  scope,  and 
was  intended  for  his  followers  in  general,  would  seem  to  be 
probable  from  I.  John  II.— 20  and  27.  The  epistle  is  a  general 
one,  presumably  to  the  churches  at  large.  In  it  John  says  to 
them:— 

"But  ye  have  an  unction  (^pur/itf,  —  anointing)  from 
the  Holy  One,  and  ye  know  all  things.  .  .  .  But  the  anoint- 
ing which  ye  have  received  of  him  abideth  in  you,  and  ye  need 
not  that  any  man  teach  you:  but  as  the  same  anointing  teach- 
eth  you  of  all  things,  and  is  truth  and  is  no  lie:  and  even  as  it 
hath  taught  you,  ye  shall  abide  in  him." 

"The    same    thought  is 

contained  in  the  verses  already  quoted  from  Paul,  I.  Corinth. 
II.-12,  13.  It  is  that  the  Holy  Spirit  will  bring  back  to  the 
mind  of  man,  and  quicken  in  his  heart,  the  words  of  Christ,  as 
the  words  of  a  mother  come  up,  one  hardly  knows  how,  and 
the  eyes  soften,  after  all  the  long  years  of  wandering  and  sin. 

The  Holy  Spirit  is  also  to  testify  of  Christ.    Christ  says  in 
John  XV.-26:— 

"But  when  the  Comforter  is  come,  whom  I 
will  send  unto  you  from  the  Father,  even  the  Spirit  of  truth, 
which  proceedeth  from  the  Father,  he  shall  testify  of  me" 
(lJMpTvprj<r€i  TTCpl  C/AOV — bear  witness  concerning  me).  Christ  has 
just  been  speaking  to  the  twelve  of  his  rejection  by  the  world, 
which  refused  to  accept  his  works  and  teachings  as  evidence  of 
his  divine  mission,  when  he  goes  on  to  say  as  in  the  text 
nevertheless  "the  Spirit  shall  bear  witness  concerning  me."  In 
the  hearts  of  men,  is  probably  the  thought  intended.  It  is 
manifestly  in  accordance  with  this  that  Peter  says,  speaking  of 
Christ  to  the  Jews: — 

"Him   hath  God  exalted  with  his  right 

hand  to  be  a  prince,  and  a  Savior,  for  to  give  repentance  to 
Israel,  and  forgiveness  of  sins.  And  we  are  his  witnesses  of 
these  things;  and  so  is  also  the  Holy  Ghost,  whom  God  hath 
given  to  them  that  obey  him."  Acts  V.-31,  32. 

John  also,   in  the  same  line  of  thought,  speaking  of  Christ, 
says: — 

"This    is    he  that  came  by  water  and   blood,  even 
Jesus  Christ,  not  by  water  only,   but  by    water    and    blood : 


THE   OFFICE   OF  THE   HOLY    SPIRIT.  117 

and   it  is  the  Spirit  that   bcarcth   witness,   because  the  Spirit  is 
truth."     I.  John   V.-6. 

Paul,  likewise,   says: — 

"Wherefore  I  give  you  to  under- 
stand that  no  man,  speaking  by  the  Spirit  of  God  calleth 
Jesus  accursed  (anathema},  and  that  no  man  can  say  that 
Jesus  is  the  Lord  but  by  (d  ^  lv — if  not  in)  the  Holy  Ghost." 
I.  Corinth.  XII.-3. 

Back  of  it  all  lies  the  thought  that  no  man  who  weighs 
the  evidence^candidly,  who  takes  the  works  and  teachings  of 
Christ  fairly,  will  be  left  in  doubt  as  to  the  divine  mission 
of  Christ,  but  that  the  Holy  Spirit  will  testify  to  his  heart 
that  Jesus  of  Nazareth  is  the  Christ,  the  Son  of  God. 


The  Holy  Spirit  is  to  quicken  the  conscience  of  the  world. 
Christ  says: — 

"And  when  he  is  come,  he  will  reprove  (eAey^ci 
— convict)  the  world  of  (-Trepi  —  concerning)  sin,  and  of  (  Trepi) 
righteousness  and  of  (Trepi)  judgment."  John  XVI.— 8. 

"Of  sin" — that  there  is  such  a  thing  as  sin:  and  of  its 
exceeding  sinfulness:  and  that  through  it  somehow  comes  soul 
peril  to  man.  It  is  the  quickened  conscience  of  man  arousing 
him  to  a  sense  oi  peril.  It  is  this  that  makes  Felix  tremble 
when  Paul  reasons  with  him  of  righteousness,  temperance  and 
judgment  to  come.  (Acts  XXIV.-25.)  It  is  witnessed  in  that 
scene  in  the  prison  when,  with  no  word  of  exhortation  spoken, 
the  keeper  cries  out,  "Sirs,  What  must  I  do  to  be  saved?" 
Acts  XVI.-30.  It  is  this  that  gives  power  to  Peter's  word, 
and  that  makes  the  message  of  the  Apostles  a  flame  of  fire 
in  the  hearts  of  men. 

"Of  righteousness"  (Tightness) — that  there  is  a  right  way, 
and  man  should  walk  therein. 

"Of  judgment"— that  sin  must  have  a  judgment,  and  that 
sinful  men  must  face  the  penalty  of  their  sins: — 

"For  he  cometh 

to    judge    the    earth:  with    righteousness    shall    he  judge    the 
world,  and  the  people  with  equity."    Psalm  XCVIII.-9. 

The  Holy  Spirit  is  to  glorify  Christ.     (John  XVI.-14.) 

Out  of  it  all  the  world  shall  come  to  know  him,  to  esteem,  to 
honor  him.  He  is  not  always  to  be  stricken  and  despised  of 


118  THE   INDWELLING   SPIRIT. 

men.  (Isaiah  LIU.)  And  this  is  even  now  fulfilling,  for  never 
has  Jesus,  the  Christ,  stood  higher  before  the  world  than  now. 
The  world  is  putting  aside  its  scoffing:  is  learning  to  know 
and  to  glorify  the  Christ. 


Is  the  coming  of  the  Holy  Spirit  in  this  office  of  "teacher 
and  guide  into  all  truth"  to  supercede  or  add  to  the  previous 
revelations  and  teachings  of  divine  truth  by  the  bringing  of 
new  revelations  and  new  teachings  ?  or  is  it  only  to  bring 
to  remembrance,  and  illumine,  and  make  clear,  what  has 
already  been  revealed  and  taught? 

Christ  says  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  "he  will  show  you 
things  to  come."  (ra  e^o/xeva)  John  XVI.-13.  The  phrase 
"TO,,  epxo/xeva,"  literally  "the  (things)  coming,"  would 
seem  to  refer  to  events  yet  to  come  to  pass  rather  than 
to  new  revelations  of  divine  truth.  Ta,  the  neuter 
of  the  definite  article  is  used  in  this  sense.  If  it  were  truths, 
new  truths,  to  be  revealed,  to  which  the  reference  is  made, 
the  article  should  be  the  feminine  ras  to  correspond  with  the 
word  a\rjO€La<s  (truths),  made  use  of,  however,  in  the  singular 
only  in  the  previous  sentence.  That  the  reference  is  not  thus 
to  new  revelations  of  spiritual  truth,  the  gender  of  the  article 
clearly  shows. 

The  first  chapter  of  Revelation  throws  a  flood  of  light 
upon  this  point.  John  says,  "I  was  in  the  Spirit  on  the 
Lord's  day."  (Rev.  I.-10);  and  the  command  to  him  is, 
"Write  the  things  (a,  relative,  elliptical  for  Ta  a)  which  thou 
hast  seen,  and  the  things  (a  for  ra  a)  which  are,  and  the 
things  (again  the  neuter  a  for  Ta  a)  which  shall  be  hereafter." 
(/zero,  Tavra — after  these.)  I.-19. 

Who  is  it  that  makes  the  revela- 
tion to  John  of  these  things  which  are  to  be?  The  answer 
is  in  chapter  II.— 7,  and  in  the  six  repetitions  of  that  sentence 
which  are  found  in  the  second  and  third  chapters  of  Revela- 
tion:— 

"He  that  hath  ears  to  hear,  let  him  hear  what  (Ti, 
neuter  —  the  thing  which)  the  Spirit  saith  to  the  churches," 
and  the  book  of  Revelation  is  a  revelation  of  events,  not  of 
new  doctrines. 

There  is  no  assurance    in  the  Scriptures,  no  hinting   even, 


THE   OFFICE   OF   THE    HOLY   SPIRIT.  119 

that  the  old  teachings,  God's  word  in  the  Old  Covenant  rec- 
ord, Christ's  words  in  the  new,  are  to  be  set  aside  or  super- 
ceded,  or  added  to:  only  brought  to  remembrance,  illumined, 
and  made  clear:  no  hintings  of  new  revelations  of  divine  truth. 
In  accordance  with  this  thought  it  will  be  noted  that  the 
apostles  in  their  writings  (the  various  epistles)  are  only  com- 
mentators upon  what  has  already  been  revealed,  not  them- 
selves revealers  of  new  spiritual  truths,  The  Revelation  of  John 
is,  as  just  said,  of  things,  events,  (TO,  ep^o/Aera),  glimpses  of  the 
hereafter — not  new  teachings.  The  chart  for  man  back  to  God 
has  been  written.  It  is  not  to  be  added  to,  for  it  is  sufficient. 


V. 
THE    REDEEMING    OF    THE    PROMISE. 

When  was  the  promise  of  Christ,  with  respect  to  the  coming 
of  the  Holy  Spirit  to  man,  formally  redeemed? 

Christ    had 

promised  to  his  disciples  that  the  Holy  Spirit  should  come  to 
them  to  abide.  He  had  said,  "I  will  pray  the  Father,  and  he 
shall  give  3rou  another  Comforter,  that  he  may  abide  with  you 
forever,  even  the  Spirit  of  truth:"  (John  XIV.-16,  17:  he  had 
also  said,  "But  the  Comforter,  which  is  the  Holy  Ghost,  whom 
the  Father  will  send  in  my  name,"  John  XIY.-26:  he  had 
likewise  said,  "It  is  expedient  for  you  that  I  go  away  (o/Tre'A.&o 
—die),  for  if  I  go  not  away  (aTre'A&o),  the  Comforter  will  not 
come  unto  you:  but  if  I  depart  (TropevOa)  —  depart,  i.  e.,  from 
life,  die),  I  will  send  him  unto  you."  John  XVI.-7.  When 
was  this  promise  formally  made  good? 

The  account  is  given 

in  John  XX.-19  to  22.  It  is  after  the  sacrifice  upon  Calvary: 
the  evening  of  the  very  day  of  the  resurrection  from  the  dead. 
Christ,  for  the  first  time  after  the  fulfillment  of  his  statement 
that  he  must  first  die,  meets  with  the  disciples  assembled 
together.  The  account  is  given  by  John  as  follows: — 

"Then 

the  same  day  at  evening,  being  the  first  day  of  the  week,  when 
the  doors  were  shut  where  the  disciples  were  assembled  for 
fear  of  the  Jews,  came  Jesus,  and  stood  in  the  midst,  and  saith 
unto  them,  Peace  be  unto  you.  And  when  he  had  so  said, 
he  showed  unto  them  his  hands  and  his  side.  Then  were  the 
disciples  glad  when  they  saw  the  Lord.  Then  said  Jesus  unto 
them  again,  Peace  be  unto  you:  as  my  Father  hath  sent  me, 
even  so  send  I  you.  And  when  he  had  said  this,  he  breathed 
on  them,  and  saith  unto  them,  Receive  ye  the  Holy  Ghost." 


THE   REDEEMING   OF   THE    PROMISE.  121 

What  are  the  evidences  of  the  indwelling  of  the  Holy  Spirit 
in  man? 

The  question  is  naturally  and  properly  asked  by  every 
devout  soul,  "How  shall  I  know  that  the  promise  is  fulfilled 
in  me,  and  that  the  Holy  Spirit  dwelleth  within  me? 

By  what  means  shall  I  perceive  and  know  the  presence 
within  me  of  this  intangible  being?  My  physical  senses  cannot 
grasp  it.  My  mind  cannot  seize  upon  it.  Will  God  leave  me 
in  ignorance  upon  a  point  which  the  Scriptures  dwell  upon  as 
one  of  so  vital  importance?"  The  question  is  not  only  a  natural 
one:  it  is  also  a  reasonable  one.  Man  does  not  pass  beyond 
the  bounds  of  equity  in  asking  it;  and  upon  a  point  so  import- 
ant he  is,  in  equity,  entitled  to  an  answer.  Is  an  answer  given 
in  the  Holy  Scriptures?  The  reply  must  be,  Unquestionably 
Yes.  A  clear,  plain  answer  is  therein  contained;  and  no  man 
who  applies  the  test  as  thus  given  need  remain  in  doubt. 

Back  of  the  test  lies  a  general  law  laid  down  by  Christ 
himself  in  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount.  It  is  contained  in  verses 
15  to  20  of  Matthew,  Chapter  VII.  He  is  speaking  o.f  false 
prophets,  and  of  evidences  as  to  the  nature  of  the  spirit 
dwelling  within  them.  The  law  is,  "By  their  fruits  ye  shall 
know  them:"  and  back  of  the  spiritual'law  is  the  natural  law 
that  a  tree  is  known  by  its  fruits;  a  good  tree  bringing  forth 
good  fruits;  an  evil  tree  bringing  forth  evil  fruits — the  summing 
up,  "Wherefore,  by  their  fruits  ye  shall  know."  • 

Now  turn  to  Galatians  V.-22,  23.  Paul  is  giving  to  the 
people  of  the  church  the  marks  by  which  they  may  distinguish 
those  who  are  under  the  dominion  of  the  flesh  from  those  who  are 
led  by  the  Spirit.  He  appeals  to  Christ's  law,  "The  tree  known 
by  its  fruits,"  as  the  decisive  test.  After  enumerating  the 
fruits  of  the  flesh  he  goes  on  to  give  the  fruits  of  the  Spirit  in 
man: — 

"But  the  fruit  of  the  Spirit  is  love,  joy,  peace,  long 
suffering,  gentleness,  (^p-^a-ror^  —  kindness)  goodness,  faith, 
meekness,  temperance:  against  such  there  is  no  law." 

It  is  the 

old  primal  law  of  creation,  the  tree  yielding  fruit  after  its  kind 
(Genesis  I.-ll),  carried  into  the  spiritual   world. 

Fruit — when?  Not  all  at  once,  for  fruit  grows.  Again  the 
general  law  carried  into  the  spiritual  world.  For,  "So  is  the 
kingdom  of  God,  as  if  a  man  should  cast  seed  into  the  ground; 


122  THE    INDWELLING   SPIRIT. 

and  should  sleep  and  rise,  night  and  day,  and  the  seed  should 
spring  and  grow  up,  he  knoweth  not  how.  For  the  earth 
bringeth  forth  fruit  of  herself:  first  the  blade,  then  the  ear,  after 
that  the  full  corn  in  the  ear."  Mark  IY.-26-28. 

It    is    Christ 

that  speaks.  Who  am  I  that  I  should  question  the  words  of 
the  Master? 

"By  their  fruits  ye  shall  know."  The  soul  which  sees  within 
itself  the  growing  up  of  the  kindly  fruits  of  the  Spirit,  instead 
of  the  bitter  fruits  of  the  flesh,  has  Christ's  assurance  that  the 
tree  is  there.  The  test  is  conclusive:  and  I  find  no  other  given 
in  the  Scriptures. 

The  soul  which  recognizes  this  in  itself  may  rest  in  the 
assurance  of  the  indwelling  Spirit,  though  no  eye  hath  seen  him, 
no  hand  touched  him,  no  ear,  save  the  ear  of  the  soul,  hath 
heard  his  voice.  And  the  soul  which  does  not  find  this  fruitage 
within  itself,  which,  as  the  years  go  by,  is  not  growing  patient, 
and  ge,ntle,  and  tender  and  kind,  whatever  the  profession  of 
godliness,  may  well  call  a  halt,  and  with  bitter  tears  ask  what 
is  wrong. 

"And  grieve*  not  the  Holy  Spirit  of  God,  whereby 
ye  are  sealed  unto  the  day  of  redemption.  Let  all  bitterness, 
and  wrath,  and  anger,  and  clamor,  and  evil  speaking  be  put 
away  from  you,  with  all  malice:  and  be  ye  kind  one  to  another, 
tender-hearted,  forgiving  one  another,  eyen  as  God  for  Christ's 
sake  hath  forgiven  you."  Ephesians  IV.-30,  32. 


THE  BAPTISM   WITH   THE    HOLY    GHOST 
AND  WITH  FIRE: 

AND 

THE  ENDUEMENT  WITH  POWER. 


"And  behold  I  send  the  promise  of  my  Father  upon  you: 
but  tarry  ye  in  the  city  of  Jerusalem,  until  ye  be  endued  with 
power  from  on  high."  Luke  XXIV -49. 


I. 

THE  BAPTISM  WITH  THE  HOLY  GHOST  AND 
WITH  FIRE. 

When  John  the  Baptist  stood  that  day  by  the  river  Jordan 
preaching  to  the  multitude,  he  said  to  them, 

"I  indeed  baptize 

you  with  water  unto  repentance:  but  he  that  cometh  after  me  is 
mightier  than  I,  whose  shoes  I  am  not  worthy  to  bear:  he 
shall  baptize  you  with  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  with  fire."  Matth. 
III.-ll. 

Mark,  in  recording  the  same  scene,  quotes  John   as  saying, 

"I  indeed  have  baptized  you  with  water;  but  he  shall  bap- 
tize you  with  the  Holy  Ghost."  Mark  I. -8:  omitting  the  words 
"and  with  fire." 

Luke  says: — 

"John    answered,    saying  unto    them    all,  I 

indeed  baptize  you  with  water;  but  one  mightier  than  I  com- 
eth, the  latchet  of  whose  shoes  I  am  not  worthy  to  unloose:  he 
shall  baptize  you  with  the  Holy  Ghost  and  with  fire."  Luke 
III. -16. 

John  further  identifies  these  predictions  with  Christ  when  he 
says: — 

"The  next  day  John  (the  Baptist)  seeth  Jesus  coming 
unto  him,  and  saith,  Behold  the  Lamb  of  God,  which  taketh 
away  the  sin  of  the  world!  This  is  he  of  whom 
I  said,  after  me  cometh  a  man  which  is  pre- 
ferred before  me,  for  he  was  before  me.  And  I  knew 
him  not:  but  that  he  should  be  made  manifest  to  Israel,  there- 
fore am  I  come  baptizing  with  water.  And  John  bare  record, 
saying,  I  saw  the  Spirit  descending  from  heaven  like  a  dove, 
and  it  abode  upon  him.  And  I  knew  him  not,  but  he  that  sent 
me  to  baptize  with  water,  the  same  said  unto  me,  Upon  whom 
thou  shalt  see  the  spirit  descending,  and  remaining  on  him,  the 


126  THE    BAPTISM   WITH   THE   HOLY   GHOST 

same  is  he  which  baptizeth  with  the  Holy  Ghost."  John  I.-29,33 

Of  Christ,  then,  the  prediction  is  made,  that  he  is  to  baptize 
with  the  Holy  Ghost  and  with  fire.  Yet  Christ  lived  his  life 
upon  earth,  did  his  work,  taught  his  doctrines,  died  upon  Cal- 
vary, rose  from  the  dead,  abode  yet  a  few  days  longer  upon 
earth  with  the  disciples,  and  then  ascended  to  heaven,  and  in  it 
all  no  appearance  of  the  fulfilment  of  John's  prophecy.  Nor  is 
the  prophecy  even  alluded  to  again  in  either  ot  the  Gospels,  and 
there  is  no  record  or  hinting  of  its  fulfilment.  The  indwelling 
of  the  Holy  Spirit,  of  which  Christ  foretells  before  his  death, 
and  which  is  realized  the  evening  of  the  day  in  which  he  arose 
from  the  tomb,  when  he  said  to  the  disciples,  "Receive  ye  the 
Holy  Ghost,"  cannot  be  considered  a  fulfilment;  for  this  was,  in 
no  sense  of  the  word,  a  baptism.  The  very  meaning  of  the 
word  (/3a7rTi£o>  —  to  bathe,  wash,  cleanse)  is  limited  to  things 
external,  and  does  not  apply  to  that  which  is  within.  It  was 
thus  that  John  baptized  his  disciples.  It  was  thus  that  Christ 
was  baptized  by  John. 

However,  the  words  of  Christ  himself  are  explicit  upon  this 
point,  for  forty  day  after  he  has  given  to  the  disciples  the  in- 
dwelling Spirit  and  in  his  last  interview  before  his  final  ascen- 
sion, and  manifestly  referring  to  that  scene,  and  John's  prophecy 
by  the  banks  of  the  Jordan,  he  says: — 

"For  John  truly  bap- 
tized with  water;  but  ye  shall  be  baptized  with  the  Holy  Ghost 
not  many  days  hence."  Acts  I.— 5. 

The  indwelling  Spirit  had  thus  already  come:  the  baptism 
with  the  Holy  Ghost  was  yet  to  come. 

As  the  fulfilment  of  the  prophecy  is  not  to  be  found  before 
Christ's  ascension,  we  are  forced  to  search  for  it  later — after  he 
had  finally  parted  from  his  disciples.  Is  there  anything  to  be 
found  in  that  after  history,  as  given  in  Acts  (for  the  consecutive 
church  history  ceases  with  Acts)  which  may  satisfactorily  be 
taken  as  a  fulfilment? 

Let  us  take  the  events  following  after  the  giving  of  the  "in- 
dwelling Spirit"  in  their  chronological  order. 

After  the  giving  of  the  Spirit,  and  just  before  he  parts  from 
the  disciples  for  the  last  time,  Christ  commissions  them  to  go 
out  as  his  messengers  to  preach  the  Gospel  to  all  nations.  The 
words  of  the  commission  are: — 

"Go  ye  therefore,  and  teach  all 


THE    BAPTISM    WITH   THE    HOLY   GHOST  127 

nations,  baptizing  them  in  the  name  of  the  Father,  and  of  the 
Son,  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost:  teaching  them  to  observe  all  things 
whatsoever  I  have  commanded  you."  Matth.  XXVIII.-19,  20. 
Luke  alludes,  but  less  in  detail,  to  the  same  commission, 
but  then  goes  on  to  give  these  further  words  from  Christ  to 
the  disciples:— 

"And,  behold,  I  send  the  promise  of  my  Father 
upon  you:  but  tarry  ye  in  the  city  of  Jerusalem  until  ye  be 
endued  with  power  from  on  high."  Luke  XXIV.-49. 

Luke  again,  in  Acts  I.-l  to  8,  refers  to  these  words  of 
Christ.  It  is  an  additional  light,  and  the  account  is  somewhat 
more  explicit: — 

"The  former  treatise  have  I  made,  O  Theophi- 
lus,  of  all  that  Jesus  began  both  to  do  and  teach,  until  the  day 
in  which  he  was    taken    up,    after    that    he    through    the  Holy 
Ghost  had  given  commandment  unto  the  Apostles  whom  he  had 
chosen:  to  whom  also  he  showed  himself  alive  after  his  passion 
by  many   infallible  proofs,   being  seen  of  them  forty  days,  and 
speaking  of  the  things  pertaining  to  the  kingdom   of  God:   and 
being,  assembled    together    with    them,    commanded    them  that 
they  should  not'depart  from  Jerusalem,  but  wait  for  the  prom- 
ise of  the  Father,  which,  saith  he,    ye    have  heard  of  me.      For 
John  truly  baptized  with  water:  but  ye  shall   be    baptized   with 
the  Holy  Ghost  not  many  days  hence.     When  they  therefore  were 
come  together  they  asked   of  him,    saying,    Lord,    wilt  thou  at 
this  time  restore  again  the    kingdom    to    Israel?    And    he    said 
unto  them,  It  is  not  for  you  to  know  the  times  or  the  seasons, 
which  the  Father  hath,  put  in  his  own  power  (e£ov<na — author- 
ity).   But  ye  shall  receive  power  (8wa/xtv —  power  to  do)  after 
that'the  Holy^Ghost  is  come  upon  you  ^^  iyx.as),   and  ye  shall 
be  witnesses  unto  me,  both  in  Jerusalem,  and  in  Judea,  and  in 
Samaria,  and  unto  the  uttermost  part  of  the  earth.    And  when 
he_had  spoken  these  things,  while  they  beheld,  he  was  taken  up 
and  a  cloud  received  him  out  of  their  sight." 

Two    separate 

things""  are  here"  spoken  of— the  sending  of  the  promise  of  the 
Father— the  enduement  with  power  from  on  high.  That  they 
are  not  the"  same,  is  clear  from  the  wording  of  the  passage,  for 
they  are  spoken  "of[separately,  and  as  distinct  the  one  from  the 
other,  not  only  apparently  in  character,  but  also  as  having  a  rela- 
tionship of  sequence  the  one  to  the  other.  Yet  that  there  is 


128  THE   BAPTSIM  WITH   THE   HOLY  GHOST 

some  relationship  between  them,  is  to  be  inferred  from  the 
manner  in  which  they  are  linked  together,  and  spoken  of,  in  the 
same  sentence.  For  the  sake  of  clearness,  however,  it  is  better 
to  examine  them  separately : — 

"And  behold  I  send  the  promise 

(rrjv  €7rayyr)\iav— the  thing  promised)  of  my  Father  (ro9  Trar/ods 
— the  Father)  upon  you."  Luke  XXIV.-49. 

What    was    "the 

promise  of  the  Father"?  That  the  words  do  not  refer  to  the 
promise  of  the  "indwelling  Spirit"  is  manifest,  for  that  promise 
was  given,  not  by  the  Father,  but  by  Christ  himself,  Christ 
had  said,  "I  will  pray  the  Father,  and  he  shall  give  you  another 
Comforter."  John  XIV.-16.  And  the  Comforter  was  to  be 
sent,  not  in  the  name  of  the  Father,  but  in  Christ's  name: — 

"But  the  Comforter,  which  is  the  Holy  Ghost,  whom  the 
Father  will  send  in  my  name."  John  XIV.-26. 

And  again  Christ  says  of  this  coming: — 

"But    when  the 

Comforter  is  come,  whom  /  will  send  unto  you  from  the  Father." 
John  XV.-26. 

It  will  be  seen  from  these  passages  that  the 
promise  of  the  indwelling  Spirit  is  distinctively  a  promise  of 
Christ  and  not  of  the  Father.  Then,  too,  the  relationship  of 
the  Holy  Spirit  to  man,  spoken  of  in  the  two  statements,  is 
entirely  different.  The  Comforter,  the  Holy  Spirit  whom  Christ 
promised  was  to  be  in  man  —  "for  he  dwelleth  with  you,  and 
shall  be  in  you:  (ev  vfuv)  John  XIV.-17:  while  the  promise  of 
the  Father  spoken  of  in  Luke  XXIV.-49,  is  to  be  upon  you— 
(e<£' — fTrl — {yxas.)  And  further,  if  "the  promise  of  the  Father" 
referred  to  the  "indwelling  Spirit,"  how  could  Christ  speak  of  it 
as  a  thing  yet  to  be  sent  ("behold  I  send  the  promise"),  when, 
as  a  matter  of  fact,  the  Holy  Spirit,  as  indwelling  in  man,  had 
already  been  given  by  Christ  the  day  of  his  resurrection?  See 
John  XX-22. 

The  conclusion  is  unavoidable  from  the  foregoing  facts  that 
"the  promise  of  the  Father"  cannot  refer  to  the  abiding  of 
the  Holy  Spirit  as  an  indwelling  presence  in  man,  as 
promised  by  Christ  and  already  given,  but  to  something  else 
which  would  seem,  from  the  wording  of  the  verse  in  question, 
Luke  XXIV.-49,  to  be  connected  with  the  enduement  with 
power.  To  what,  then,  does  it  refer?  Peter  answers  the  ques- 


THE   BAPTISM   WITH  THE   HOLY   GHOST  129 

tion  in  Acts.  The  disciples  were  assembled  in  that  upper  cham- 
ber in  Jerusalem,  waiting,  as  Christ  had  directed,  for  the 
enduement  with  power,  when  a  wonderful  thing  came  upon 
them.  The  scene  is  best  described  in  the  words  of  the  Scripture 
itself:— 

"And  when  the  day  of  Pentecost  was  fully  come,  they 
were  all  with  one  accord  in  one  place.  And  suddenly  there  came 
a  sound  from  heaven  as  of  a  rushing  mighty  wind,  and  it  filled 
all  the  house  where  they  were  sitting.  And  there  appeared  unto 
them  cloven  tongues,  like  as  of  fire,  and  it  sat  upon  each  of 
them.  And  they  were  all  filled  with  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  began 
to  speak  with  other  tongues  as  the  Spirit  gave  them  utterance.'' 
Acts  II.-l,  4. 

The  bystanders,  amazed  at  the  scene,  could  give  no  other 
explanation  than  that,  "These  men  are  full  of  new  wine." 

"But  Peter,  standing  up  with  the  eleven,  lifted  up  his  voice 
and  said  unto  them,  Ye  men  of  Judea,  and  all  ye  that  dwell  at 
Jerusalem,  be  this  known  unto  you,  and  hearken  to  my  words: 
for  these  are  not  drunken,  as  ye  suppose,  seeing  it  is  but  the 
third  hour  of  the  day.  •  But  this  is  that  which  was  spoken 
by  the  prophet  Joel,  And  it  shall  come  to  pass  in  the  last  days, 
saith  God,  I  will  pour  out  of  my  Spirit  upon(eVi)  all  flesh:  and 
your  sons  and  your  daughters  shall  prophesy,  and  your  young 
men  shall  see  visions,  and  your  old  men  shall  dream  dreams: 
and  on  (ITTI)  my  servants  and  on  my  handmaidens  I  will  pour 
out  in  those  days  of  my  Spirit,  and  they  shall  prophesy.'' 
Acts  II.-14,  18. 

Again  it  is  the  same  Greek  preposition,  eVt  (upon).  It  is  a 
sudden  and  mighty  outpouring  of  God's  Spirit  upon  the  disci- 
ples, a  baptism  of  the  Holy  Spirit  which  has  supervened  upon 
the  indwelling  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 

That  this  outpouring  of  the  Holy  Spirit  upon  the  disciples 
was  the  baptism  with  the  Holy  Ghost  which  had  been  prom- 
ised, is  confirmed  by  Peter  when  he  says: — 

"Therefore  being 

by  the  right  hand  of  God  exalted,  and  having  received  of  the 
Father  the  promise  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  he  hath  shed  forth  this, 
which  ye  now  see  and  hear."  Acts  II.-33. 

And    again    when  he  says: — 

"And  as  I  began  to  speak,  the 


130  THE   BAPTISM    WITH   THE   HOLY  GHOST 

Holy  Ghost  fell  on  them,  as  on  us  at  the  beginning.  Then 
remembered  I  the  word  of  the  Lord,  how  that  he  said,  John 
indeed  baptized  with  water,  but  ye  shall  be  baptized  with  the 
Holy  Ghost.  Forasmuch  then  as  God  gave  them  the  like  gift  as 
he  did  unto  us,  who  believed  on  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  what 
was  I,  that  I  could  withstand  God?"  Acts  XL-IS,  17. 

What  is  the  purpose  of  this  baptism?  for  that  it  could  be 
thus  foretold,  and  waited  for,  and  sent,  and  yet  be  without  a 
definite  purpose,  would  not  seem  reasonable,  nor  would  it  be  in 
keeping  with  that  manifest  working  to  a  fixed  plan  which  is 
everywhere  so  marked  a  feature  of  God's  ways  with  man,  as 
narrated  in  the  Scriptures. 

Was  the  purpose  to  add  to,  or  make  more  complete,  the 
scheme  of  salvation  for  man? 

To    assume   this    would    be   to 

assume  that  the  plan  of  redemption  from  transgression,  and  of 
a  new  life  for  man  in  God,  was  not  complete  in  the  work  of 
Christ  himself.  It  would  be  to  assume  that  Christ  returned  to 
heaven  leaving  an  incompleted  work  for  man's  salvation,  and 
that  to  finish  the  work  it  was  necessary  to  go  back  to  an  old 
prophecy  and  promise  of  the  Father.  Yet  what  do  the  Scrip- 
tures show  as  the  steps  in  the  plan  of  salvation  of  man?  They 
show:— 

1— Man's  sin  remitted  through  the  blood  of  Christ,  shed  as 
the  sacrificial  atonement : — 

"Behold  the  Lamb  of  God  which 

taketh  away  the  sin  —  (d/Aaprtav — transgression)  of  the  world." 
John  L-29. 

"  .  .  .  .  the  blood  of  Jesus  Christ,  his  Son,  cleanseth  us 
from  all  sin  (d/xa/m'as— transgression)."  I.  John  I.-7. 

2— Man  born  again  from  spiritual  death  in  sin  to  life  in 
God  through  faith  in  Jesus  Christ:— 

"Jesus  answered  and  said 

unto  him,  Verily,  verily,  I  say  unto  thee.  Except  a  man  be  born 
again,  he  cannot  see  the  kingdom  of  God."  John  III.-3. 

"Whosoever  belie veth  that  Jesus  is  the  Christ  is  born  of 
God."  I.  John  V.-l. 

"Ear  ye  are  all  the  children  of  God  by  faith  in  Christ 
Jesus."  Galatians  III.-26. 

"That  whosoever  believeth  in  him  (Christ)  should  not  perish, 
but  have  eternal  life."  John  III.-15. 


THE   BAPTISM  WITH  THE  HOLY  GHOST  131 

- 

3— Man  thus  pardoned,  and  again  a  child  of  God  and  heir 
to  eternal  life,  now  provided  with  a  teacher  and  guide  in  the 
person  of  the  indwelling  Spirit  whose  work  is  not  transient  or 
temporary,  neither  only  a  partial  work,  but  who  is  to  be  guide 
to  man  into  all  truth,  and  is  to  abide  with  him  forever: — 

"And 

I  will  pray  the  Father,  and  he  shall  give  you  another  Com- 
forter, that  he  may  abide  with  you  forever:  even  the  Spirit  of 
truth."  John  XIV.-16,  17. 

"But  the  Comforter,  which  is  the  Holy  Ghost,  whom  the 
Father  will  send  in  my  name,  he  shall  teach  you  all  things,  and 
bring  all  things  to  your  remembrance  whatsoever  I  have  said 
unto  you."  John  XIY.-26. 

"Howbeit  when  he,  the  Spirit  of  truth  is  come,  he  will  guide 
you  into  all  truth."  John  XYI.-13. 

4? — Man  to  become  holy  unto  the  Lord  in  the  trujth  into 
which  the  Holy  Spirit  is  to  act  as  teacher  and  guide:— 

"Sanctify 

(sanctus  facio  —  dyiaorov  —  make  holy)  them  through  thy  truth 
(ev  ry  dAr?0et'a— in  the  truth):  thy  word  is  truth."  John  XVII. 
17. 

"Neither  pray  I  for  these  alone:  but  for  them  also  which 
shall  believe  on  me  through  their  word." — John  XVII.-20. 

If  then,  as  thus  shown,  man  is  already,  before,  and  without 
this  baptism  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  pardoned  of  his  transgressions, 
born  again  to  God,  heir  to  eternal  life,  and  provision  made  for 
his  becoming  Holy  unto  the  Lord  (sanctified)  what  else  remains 
to  make  the  work  of  oneness  with  God  complete?  The  answer 
must  be  that  nothing  more  remains  to  be  provided  for:  the 
scheme  for  man  in  his  individual  relationship  to  God  is  complete. 

It  is  manifestly  in  the  thought  of  this  completeness  of  the 
the  work,  as  already  provided  for,  that  Christ  goes  on  in  the 
same  prayer  to  add  these  words:— 

"Neither  pray  I  for  these 

alone,  but  for  them  also  which  shall  believe  on  me  through 
their  word:  that  they  all  may  be  one:  as  thou,  Father,  art  in 
me,  and  I  in  thee,  that  they  also  may  be  one  in  us:  that  the 
world  may  believe  that  thou  hast  sent  me.  And  the  glory 
which  thou  gavest  me  I  have  given  them:  that  they  may  be  one 
even  as  we  are  one:  I  in  them,  and  thou  in  me,  that  they  may 
be  made  perfect  in  one."  John  XVII.-20,  23. 


132  THE    BAPTISM   WITH   THE    HOLY   GHOST 

If,  then,  the  baptism  with  the  Holy  Ghost  and  with  tire  had 
not  to  do  with  the  work  of  man's  individual  salvation,  nor 
with  his  becoming  holy  unto  the  Lord,  what  was  its  purpose?  for 
that  it  must  have  had  some  specific  purpose  the  whole  tenor  of 
God's  ways  with  man  would  indicate,  for  that  God  ever  does 
purposeless  work  is  controverted  by  the  whole  record  of  the 
Scriptures;  neither  could  we  conceive  of  it  as  a  possibility  con- 
sistent with  his  nature.  The  most  reasonable  method  of  seek- 
ing for  an  answer  to  the  inquiry  is  to  make  a  careful  study  of 
the  text  and  context  of  the  passages  in  the  Scriptures  in  which 
the  baptism  with  the  Holy  Ghost  and  with  fire  is  spoken  of, 
and  then  to  find  what  yet  remained  to  be  done  in  the  working 
out  of  God's  ways  with  men. 

The  promise  of  this  baptism  is  found  in  only  one  of  the 
Gospels.  Luke  says  (XXIV.-45,  51):— 

"Then  opened  he  their 

understanding,  that  they  might  understand  the  Scriptures,  and 
said  unto  them,  Thus  it  is  written,  and  thus  it  behoved  Christ  to 
suffer,  and  to  rise  from  the  dead  the  third  day:  and  that  repent- 
ance and  remission  of  sins  should  be  preached  in  his  name  among 
all  nations,  beginning  at  Jerusalem.  And  ye  are  witnesses  of 
these  things.  And  behold  I  send  the  promise  of  my  Father  upon 
(eVt)  you:  but  tarry  ye  in  the  city  of  Jerusalem  until  ye  be 
endued  (IvBvarja-Oe— eVSvw,  to  put  on,  to  clothe  as  with  a  gar- 
ment) with  power  (Swa/x,u/—  power  to  do)  from  on  high.  And 
he  led  them  out  as  far  as  Bethany,  and  he  lifted  up  his  hands 
and  blessed  them.  And  it  came  to  pass,  while  he  blessed  them, 
he  was  parted  from  them,  and  carried  up  into  heaven." 

What  are  the  circumstances  under  which  this  command  is 
given? 

Christ,  as  has  just  been  shown,  had  finished  the  work 
of  providing  for  man's  redemption  and  sanctification.  He  has 
just  commissioned  his  disciples  to  go  out  as  his  messengers  to 
carry  the  glad  tidings  to  all  men.  To  the  end  of  a  better  fitting 
for  the  work  which  lies  before  them  he  has  just  "opened  their 
understanding  that  they  might  understand  the  Scriptures"  with 
regard  to  the  prophecies  of  his  coming  to  men,  and  the  purpose 
of  it,  and  now,  with  the  work  done  in  their  own  souls,  and 
their  understanding  enlightened  to  the  message,  they  are  to  go 
out  by  his  command  to  preach  this  gospel  of  hope  to  men:  and 


THE  BAPTISM  WITH  THE  HOLY  GHOST  133 

they  are  to  be  his  witnesses  (fjidpTvpes — fjunprvped) —  to  bear  tes- 
timony) of  these  things. 

But    who    and    what    are    they?    and 

what  is  the  task  before  them?  A  little  band  of  eleven  against 
the  world.  Unknown,  yet  to  attack  entrenched  heathenism.  So 
fearful  that  when  the  Christ  whom  they  are  to  preach  was  led 
to  Calvary,  they  all  abandoned  him  and  fled.  With  no  proof  as 
yet  to  their  own  minds  that  the  power  which  he  had  to  touch 
men's  hearts  will  go  with  them.  With  no  proof  to  the  world 
that  they  are  commissioned  to  be  his  successors. 

The  undertaking  would  seem  to  be  hopeless:  the  attempt 
madness.  How  are  these  fearful  hearts  to  have  courage?  the 
doubting  world  to  be  convinced? 

This  is  the  problem  which  lay  before  them,  the  question  as 
yet  unanswered.  For  it  the  Christ  life,  the  Christ  death,  the 
indwelling  Spirit,  have  given  no  solution.  Has  God  left  this 
part  of  the  plan  unprovided  for,  or  is  "the  promise  of  the 
Father,"  for  which  they  are  bidden  to  wait,  that  which  is  to 
complete  and  make  effective  the  plan  for  the  reclamation  of  a 
world  lost  in  sin? 

Before  passing  on  for  an  answer  it  is  well  to  examine  again 
and  upon  the  line  of  this  inquiry,  the  second  account  of  the 
scene  when  the  command  was  given  to  "wait  for  the  promise 
of  the  Father,"  for  there  is  a  second  account  but  not  in  the 
gospels.  It  is  in  the  first  chapter  of  Acts  where  a  retrospective 
view  is  given  of  the  one  scene  in  Christ's  life  which  is  to  become 
the  connecting  link  again  between  old  and  new.  The  account, 
which  has  been  before  quoted,  but  which  it  is  well  to  consider 
again,  is  also  from  Luke: — 

"The  former  treatise  (Luke's  gos- 
pel) have  I  made,  O  Theophilus,  of  all  that  Jesus  began  both  to 
do  and  to  teach,  until  the  day  in  which  he  was  taken  up,  after 
that  he,  through  the  Holy  Ghost,  had  given  commandment 
unto  the  apostles  whom  he  had  chosen:  to  whom  he  showed 
himself  alive  after  his  passion  (7ra$etv— Trao-^cu  —  to  suffer)  by 
many  infallible  proofs,  being  seen  of  them  forty  days,  and 
speaking  of  the  things  pertaining  to  the  kingdom  of  God:  and 
being  assembled  together  with  them,  commanded  them  that  they 
should  not  depart  from  Jerusalem,  but  wait  for  the  promise  of 
the  Father,  which,  saith  he,  ye  have  heard  of  me  (ov  —  R  V. 


134  THE    BAPTISM   WITH   THE   HOLY  GHOST 

from  me):  for  John  truly  baptized  with  water,  but  ye  shall  be 
baptized  with  the  Holy  Ghost  not  many  days  hence.  When 
they  therefore  were  come  together,  they  asked  of  him  saying, 
Lord,  wilt  thou  at  this  time  restore  again  the  kingdom  to 
srael?  And  he  said  unto  them,  It  is  not  for  you  to  know  the 
times  or  the  seasons,  which  the  Father  hath  put  in  his  own 
power  (e£ov<ria — authority)  But  ye  shall  receive  power  (8wayu.iv 
—  power|to  do)  after  that  the  Holy  Ghost  is  come  upon  you, 
and  ye  shall  be  witnesses  unto  me,  both  in  Jerusalem,  and  in  all 
Judea,  and  in  Samaria,  and  unto  the  uttermost  part  of  the 
earth.  And  when  he  had  spoken  these  things,  while  they  beheld 
he  was  taken  up,  and  a  cloud  received  him  out  of  their  sight." 
Acts  I.-l,  9. 

It  will  be  noted  in  this  account  that  the  apostles  are: — 

1— To  wait  in  Jerusalem  for  the  "promise  (the  thing  prom- 
ised) of  the  Father."  Verse  4. 

2— That  the  promise  is  "the  baptism  with  the  Holy  Ghost" 
— shown  by  the  word  "for."  Verse  5. 

3— That  following  the  baptism  with  the  Holy  Ghost  is  to 
be  given  to  them  power  to  do,  that  is  to  perform  things. 
Verse  8. 

4 — That  thereupon  they  are  to  go  out  to  be  Christ's  wit- 
nesses (pdpTvpes— those  who  bear  testimony)  to  all  the  earth. 
Verse  8. 

What  do  the  apostles  do? 

1 — they  return  to  Jerusalem  as  commanded.    Verse  12. 

2— They  await  the  fulfilling  of  the  promise.     Verses  13,  14. 

What  came  to  them? 

"And  when  the  day  of  Pentecost  was 

fully  come,  they  were  all  with  one  accord  in  one  place.  And 
suddenly  there  came  a  sound  from  heaven,  as  of  a  rushing, 
mighty  wind,  and  it  filled  all  the  house  where  they  were  sitting. 
And  there  appeared  unto  them  cloven  tongues  like  as  of  fire,  and 
it  sat  upon  each  of  them.  And  they  were  all  filled  with  the 
Holy  Ghost,  and  began  to  speak  with  other  tongues,  as  the 
Spirit  gave  them  utterance."  Acts  II.-l,  4. 

Are  we  to  understand  this  as  the  fulfillment  of  "the  promise 
of  the  Father"? 

No  other  conclusion  is  possible,  for  there  is  no 
record  of  anything  else  coming  to  the  disciples,  and  they 
immediately  thereafter  go  out  to  the  work  to  which  Christ  has 


THE   BAPTISM  WITH   THE   HOLY   GHOST  135 

appointed  them,  thus  showing  that  they  themselves  thus  under- 
stood, and  recognized  it  as  such. 

And  that  they  themselves  so  understood  and  accepted  is 
further  confirmed  by  the  words  of  Peter  when,  in  explanation  of 
the  scene  which  accompanies  the  baptism,  he  says  to  the  won- 
dering bystanders:— 

"This  is  that  which  was  spoken  by  the 

prophet  Joel;  And  it  shall  come  to  pass  in  the  last  days,  saith 
God,  I  will  pour  out  of  my  Spirit  upon  all  flesh:  and  your  sons 
and  your  daughters  shall  prophesy,  and  your  young  men  shall 
see  visions  and  your  old  men  shall  dream  dreams:  and  on  my 
servants,  and  on  my  handmaidens  I  will  pour  out  in  those  days 
of  my  Spirit:  and  they  shall  prophesy."  Acts  II.-16,  18. 

And  further  says: — 

"This  Jesus  hath  God  raised  up,  whereof 

we  are  witnesses.  Therefore  being  by  the  right  hand  of  God 
CA-alted,  and  having  received  of  the  Father  the  promise  of  the 
Holy  Ghost,  he  (Jesus)  hath  shed  forth  this,  which  ye  now  see 
and  hear."  Acts  II.-33. 

The  promise  of  the  Father,  this  special  baptism  with  the 
Holy  Ghost,  would  seem  then  from  the  Scripture  record  to  have 
to  do,  as  purpose  and  end,  rather  with  a  special  fitting  for  the 
work  of  spreading  the  gospel  of  salvation,  than  with  any  fur- 
ther work  of  salvation  to  the  individual  soul  of  man.  That  in 
this  work  of  special  fitting  a  great  spiritual  exaltation  came  to 
the  souls  of  the  messengers  themselves  the  record  also  as  plainly 
sho\vs. 

But  why  do  they  need  this  special  pouring  out  of  the  Holy 
Spirit  upon  them  as  a  fitting  for  the  work?  In  what  way  will 
it  better  prepare  them  for  what  lies  before? 

The  explanation 

would  seem  to  lie  along  the  line  of  confidence-r-courage  to  face 
the  world.  That  a  remarkable  change  came  to  them  in  this 
respect  immediately  thereupon,  is  clearly  shown  by  the  record. 
These  men  who  fled  panic  stricken  when  their  master  was 
seized  (Matth.  XXYI.-56),  and  Peter,  who  denied  him  (Matth. 
XXVI.-70,  72,  74),  and  who,  when  they  meet  together  after- 
ward, gather  within  a  room  with  shut  doors  for  "fear  of  the 
Jews"  (John  XX.-19),  and  who,  so  unstable  is  their  faith,  will 
not  believe  that  his  word  was  true  and  that  he  is  indeed  risen 
from  the  dead  (Mark  XVI.-13),  and  who  are  even  affrighted 


136  THE    BAPTISM   WITH   THE   HOLY   GHOST 

when  he  does  appear  unto  them,  and  deem  that  they  have  only 
seen  a  spirit  —  these  men,  after  the  baptism  with  the  Holy 
Ghost  seem  immediately  to  lose  all  mistrust,  all  fear,  and  go 
out  to  proclaim  to  a  hostile  world  the  risen  Christ  with  a 
boldness,  a  defiance  of  danger,  which  shows  a  complete  trans- 
formation. Of  them  it  is  said,  immediately  after  this  baptism 
with  the  Holy  Ghost,  when  they  are  arrested  and  brought  to 
trial  for  preaching  Christ: — 

"Now  when  they  saw  the  bold- 
ness of  Peter  and  John,  and  perceived  that  they  were  unlearned 
and  ignorant  men,  they  marveled:  and  they  took  knowledge  of 
them  that  they  had  been  with  Jesus."  Acts  IV.-13. 

And  when 

they  are  commanded  not  to  preach  Christ,  these  men  who  but 
a  few  days  before  had  been  afraid  to  own  him,  now  boldly 
reply  to  the  very  men  who  had  been  instrumental  in  securing 
the  death  of  their  Master,  and  with  his  fate  as  a  possibility 
before  them: — 

"  Whether  it  be  right  in  the  sight  of  God  to 
hearken  unto  you  more  than  unto  God,  judge  ye.  For  we  can- 
not but  speak  the  things  which  we  have  seen  and  heard." 
Acts  IV.-19,  20. 

And  when  they  are  again  seized  and  brought  to  trial  for 
persisting  in  publicly  preaching  Christ,  and  are  brought  before 
the  council,  and  the  high  priest  says  to  them:— 

"Did  not  we 

straitly  command  you,  that  ye  should  not  teach  in  this  name? 
and  behold,  ye  have  filled  Jerusalem  with  your  doctrines,  and 
intend  to  bring  this  man's  blood  upon  us;" 

it  is  said,  "Then 

Peter  and  the  other  apostles  answered  and  said,  We  ought  to 
obey  God  rather  than  men."  And  boldly  preaching  Christ  cru- 
cified to  the  council  itself,  they  add,  "And  we  are  his  witnesses 
of  these  things." 

The  account  goes  on  to  say,  "And  when  they 
had  called  the  apostles,  and  beaten  them,  they  commanded 
that  they  should  not  speak  in  the  name  of  Jesus,  and  let  them 
*o." 

Does  the  old  fear  again  come  upon  them;  and  do  they  obey? 

"And  they  departed  from  the  presence  of  the  council, 
rejoicing  that  they  were  counted  worthy  to  suffer  shame  for 


THE   BAPTISM   WITH   THE   HOLY   GHOST  137 

his  name.  And  daily  in  the  temple  and  in  every  house,  they 
ceased  not  to  teach  and  preach  Jesus  Christ."  Acts  V.-27  to  42. 

Again,  after  the  martyrdom  of  Stephen,  it  is  said:— 

"As  for 

Saul,  he  made  havoc  of  the  church,  entering  into  every  house, 
and  haling  men  and  women,  committed  them  to  prison.  There- 
fore they  that  were  scattered  abroad  went  everywhere  preach- 
ing the  word."  Acts  VIII.-3,  4. 

It  is  all  a  vivid  picture  of  a  new  born  boldness  come  upon 
men  who  before  were  fearful  and  discouraged.  And  it  does  not 
cease.  The  whole  history  of  the  church  of  Christ  is  a  history  of 
timid  men,  of  shrinking  women,  transformed  by  some  miraculous 
power  until  they  shrink  from  no  danger,  are  checked  by  no 
peril,  in  witnessing  for  Him  of  Calvary.  The  Roman  arena, 
and  the  lion's  den,  and  the  martyr's  stake,  and  the  rack  of  the 
inquisition,  testify  to  the  coming  upon  man  of  some  power, 
some  exaltation,  some  great  uplifting  out  of  self,  which 
is  more  than  human.  Whence  came  it?  The  record  of 
the  Scriptures  shows  that  it  came  with  that  baptism  of  the 
Holy  Ghost  which  fell  upon  the  little  band  of  disciples  that  day 
in  the  upper  chamber  in  Jerusalem,  and  which  at  various  times 
has  fallen  upon  Christ's  church  in  the  ages  since. 


II. 

"AND  WITH  FIRE.'' 

The  prophecy  was: — 

"He  shall  baptize  you  with  the  Holy 
Ghost,  and  with  fire"    Matth.    III.-ll. 

"With  the  Holy  Ghost  and  with  fire"  —  the  two  are  linked 
together  in  the  prophecy  in  such  manner  that  the  fulfillment 
would  also  reasonably  be  looked  for  as  linked  together  in  like 
manner,  And  so  we  find  it,  for  the  account  reads:— 

"And  when 

the  day  of  Pentecost  was  fully  come,  they  were  all  with  one 
accord  in  one  place.  And  suddenly  there  came  a  sound  from 
heaven,  as  of  a  rushing,  mighty  wind,  and  it  filled  all  the  house 
where  they  were  sitting.  And  there  appeared  unto  them  cloven 
tongues  like  as  of  fire,  and  it  sat  upon  each  of  them.  And  they 
were  all  filled  with  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  began  to  speak  with 
other  tongues,  as  the  Spirit  gave  them  utterance."  Acts  II.- 
1,4. 

That  this  was  what  was  meant  by  the  phrase,  "and  with 
fire,"  it  is  reasonable  to  suppose,  for  there  is  no  further  mention 
in  the  New  Covenant  record  of  the  subject,  neither  anything 
which  could  be  construed  as  a  mention  of  it. 


What  was  the  purpose  of  this  visible  baptism  with  fire/ 
The  Scriptures  do  not  say.  Neither  is  there  further  mention 
of  the  subject  in  the  subsequent  narrative.  We  are  only  left  to 
infer.  Yet  if  we  consider  the  circumstances  under  which  it  was 
given,  the  purpose  would  seem  to  be  so  plainly  and  clearly 
manifest  that  we  can  scarcely  remain  in  doubt.  It  would  seem 


AND  WITH   FIRE  139 

to  have  come  simply  as  the  visible  sign  of  the  divine  presence 
in  that  outpouring  which  was  termed  "the  baptism  with  the 
Holy  Spirit." 

I  find  no  scriptural  authority,  neither  any  just  reason  for 
attaching  any  mystical  meaning  to  the  tongues  of  fire  which 
sat  upon  the  disciples  that  day.  Fire  was  to  the  Jews  the  rec- 
ognized sign  of  the  diyine  presence:  hence  the  appropriateness  of 
it  as  a  symbol  of  the  presence  of  the  invisible  spirit  in  this  case. 
It  was  the  burning  lamp,  and  the  fire  of  the  furnace  which 
marked  the  coming  of  God  to  Abraham  the  night  of  the  cove- 
nant. It  was  in  the  burning  bush  that  God  was  manifest  to 
Moses  at  Horeb.  It  was  the  pillar  of  fire  by  night  which  told 
of  the  divine  presence  in  the  tabernacle.  It  was  in  fire  that 
Jehovah  descended  upon  Sinai.  It  was  to  the  fire  from  heaven 
that  Elijah  appealed  as  the  deciding  test  of  the  true  God:  and 
it  is  a  chariot  of  fire  that  comes  from  God  for  Elijah  by  the 
waters  of  Jordan. 

The  tongues  of  fire  which  that  day  sat  upon 
the  disciples  were,  therefore,  a  symbol  whose  significance  was 
recognized  by  the  Jews.  It  was  to  their  minds  the  confirma- 
tion, by  a  well  known  sign,  of  the  presence  of  the  Spirit  of  God 
with  these  men.  It  was  to  them  the  visible  proof  that  the 
divine  power  of  Christ  had  passed  on  to  his  disciples.  And  this 
was  necessary  to  the  success  of  their  work.  They  now  go  out 
having  been  divinely  accredited  by  the  visible  sign  of  God's 
presence  with  them.  There  is,  as  has  been  before  said,  no 
reason,  or  authority,  to  attach  to  it  any  significance  beyond  this. 
To  attach  to  it,  as  is  sometimes  done,  other,  and  mystical 
meanings,  is  without  warrant  from  the  Scriptures. 

Matthew  III.-ll,  12,  and  Luke  III.-16,  17,  might,  upon  a 
superficial  reading,  seem  from  mere  contiguity  of  statements,  to 
imply  some  further  work  of  personal  spiritual  cleansing.  The 
readings,  which  are  essentially  the  same,  are  as  follows: — 

"I  indeed  baptize  you 

with  water  unto  repentance:  but  he  that  cometh  after  me  is 
mightier  than  I,  whose  shoes  I  am  not  worthy  to  bear:  he 
shall  baptize  you  with  the  Holy  Ghost  and  with  fire:  whose  fan 
is  in  his  band,  and  he  will  thoroughly  purge  his  floor,  and 
gather  his  wheat  into  the  garner:  but  he  will  burn  up  the  chaff 
with  unquenchable  fire."  Matth.  III.-ll,  12. 


140  THE   BAPTISM  WITH  THE   HOLY   GHOST 

The  objections  to  the  construction  that  verse  12  refers  to 
any  further  work  of  purification  in  believers  would  be: — 

1— The  Scriptures  expressly  provide  for  the  cleansing  from 
all  sin  through  the  sacrificial  blood  of  Christ.  I.  John  1-7. 

2 — The  texts  themselves  clearly  refer,  not  to  any  spiritual 
work  in  Christ's  followers  but  to  a  separation  between  them 
and  the  wicked. 

3— Unquenchable  fire  is  the  well  recognized  Scriptural  desig- 
nation for  the  fire  of  eternal  punishment,  not  of  a  cleansing  fire 
in  believers.  See  Rev.  XIV.-ll.,  and  Mark  IX.-43,  48. 

Was  this  baptism  with  fire  intended  for  the  apostles  alone, 
or  is  it  for  all  o  Christ's  followers,  in  all  ages? 

The  Scriptures  do 

not  say.  Yet  there  is  no  record  of  its  recurrence  at  any  time 
afterward  in  the  infant  church,  and  it  is  not  probable  that  so 
striking  a  phenomenon  would  be  left  without  mention  had  it 
again  occurred. 

The  outpouring  of  the  Holy  Spirit  in  a  special  manner  is 
spoken  of  several  times  afterward  in  the  record  (see  Acts  IV.- 
31;  VIII.-17;  X-- 44,  47)  but  not  the  baptism  with  fire. 

And  with  the  view  that  this  baptism  with  fire  was  simply 
a  token  to  both  disciples  and  believers  of  the  passing  on  of  a 
supernatural  power  from  Christ  to  those  whom  he  left  as  his 
representatives,  there  would  seem  to  be  no  need  of  a  further 
manifestation  of  such  kind. 

So  far  as  the  Scriptures,  then,  are 

to  be  taken  as  a  final  authority  we  must  rest  in  these  conclu- 
sions:— 

I — That  the  promise  of  the  baptism  with  fire  was  to  the  first 
band  of  apostles  alone. 

2 — That  there  is  no  evidence  of  its  coming  to  even  their 
immediate  successors. 

3 — That  there  is  no  evidence  that  it  was,  received  in  subse- 
quent ages. 

4 — That  there  is  no  evidence  of  any  purpose -beyond  the  set- 
ting of  a  seal  upon  the  authority  of  the  disciples. 

5 — That  all  mystical  interpretations  and  theories  as  to  its 
coming  as  an  after  power  of  cleansing,  or  purifying,  or  of  burn- 
ing out  of  a  residuum  of  sin  in  believers,  are  without  warrant 
from  the  Scriptuies,  and  are  in  direct  conflict  with  the  whole 


AND   WITH   FIRE  141 

Scriptural  teaching  of  the  adequacy  and  sufficiency  of  the  cleans- 
ing power  of  the  sacrificial  blood  of  Christ.  Such  theories,  in 
their  very  nature,  deny  the  sufficiency  of  the  atonement  by 
Christ,  and  repudiate  the  written  -word,  which  says: — 

"The 

blood  of  Jesus  Christ  his  Son,  cleanseth  us  from  all  sin."  I. 
John  I.-7. 


THE  ENDUEMENT  WITH  POWER. 

Christ  said  to  his  disciples  after  his  resurrection,  and  just 
before  his  ascension: — 

"And  behold  I  send  the  promise  of  my 

Father  upon  you,  but  tarry  ye  in  the  city  of  Jerusalem  until  ye 
be  endued  with  power  from  on  high.11    Luke  XXIV.-49. 

"What  is  meant  by  the  word  power  in  this  text?  The  Greek 
word  is  Swa/xis.  In  contradistinction  to  e£ov<ru&  (the  power 
of  authority)  8vva/us  *s  power  to  do,  ability  to  bring  things  to 
pass. 

This  passage  in  Luke,  and  the  passage  in  Acts  I.-8,  which 
is  simply  a  retelling  of  the  same  scene,  are  the  only  places  in 
the  Scriptures  in  which  the  enduement  with  power  is  specifically 
mentioned. 

That  there  must  have  been  some  special  purpose  in  this 
enduement  with  power,  would  seem  only  to  be  a  reasonable 
supposition,  judging  from  the  evidences  of  definite  plan  every- 
where manifest  in  God's  dealings  with  men,  as  shown  in  the 
Scriptures:  neither  would  a  purposeless  act  seem  to  be  worthy 
of  the  divine  wisdom,  and  especially  at  so  important  a  time  as 
the  last  interview  of  Christ  with  his  disciples,  when  he  is  about 
to  leave  them  alone  upon  earth. 

What,  then,  was  the  purpose  of  this  enduement  with 
power? 

The  Scriptures  do  not  specifically  say. 

Have  we,  then,  any  means  of  judging  of  the  purpose? 

The 

most  reasonable  plan  of  seeking  an  answer  is  to  examine  into 
the  circumstances  under  which  the  command  was  given,  supple- 


THE  ENDUEMENT  WITH  POWER  143 

menting  this  by  the  history  of  the  events  which  follow. 

The  account  of  the  giving  of  the  command  is  found  in  Luke 
XXIV.-44  to  49  inclusive.  Christ,  as  has  just  been  said,  is 
about  to  part  from  the  disciples  whom,  for  three  years,  he  has 
been  teaching  and  training  to  go  out  as  his  successors  and 
messengers  to  the  world  to  preach  his  gospel.  In  verse  44  he 
reminds  them  of  the  prophecies  concerning  himself  and  his  work 
for  man.  In  verse  45  he  opens  their  understanding,  that  these 
prophecies  as  fulfilled  in  himself  may  be  clear  to  them.  In  46 
he  reminds  them  that  his  suffering  of  death  and  the  subsequent 
rising  from  the  dead,  are  a  part  of  the  plan.  Then  in  verse 
47  he  shows  the  purpose  of  it  all— "that  repentance  and  remis- 
sion of  sins  should  be  preached  in  his  name  (that  is  as  coming 
through  him)  among  all  nations,  beginning  at  Jerusalem. 

And  now  he  says  to  them  (verse  48):— 

"And  ye  are  wit- 
nesses (/jLaprvpes — /xapTvpeo),  to  bear  witness,  to  testify  to)  of 
these  things." 

The  wording  of  purpose  in  Acts  I.-8,  which  gives  the  same 
scene,  is  even  more  explicit  as  to  intent. 

It  there  says: — 

"And    ye    shall   be   my    witnesses  both  in 

Jerusalem,  and  in  all  Judea,  and  in  Samaria,  and  unto  the 
uttermost  parts  of  the  earth." 

And  now  he  adds,  Luke'XXIV.-49:— 

"And  behold  I  send 

the  promise  of  my  Father  upon  you  (the  baptism  with  the  Holy 
Ghost):  but  tarry  ye  in  the  city  of  Jerusalem,  until  ye  be 
endued  with  power  (Svm/uv — power  to  do)  from  on  high." 

From  this  analysis  of  the  circumstances  attending  the  com- 
mand the  only  conclusion  which  can  be  drawn  is  that  the 
power  spoken  of,  and  for  which  they  are  to  wait,  is  the  power 
which  will  be  needed  in  order  to  the  accomplishment  of  the 
work  which  lies  before  them,  namely,  to  spread  the  gospel  of 
Christ  to  the  world. 

Why  should  they  need  this  special  power? 

A  survey,  how- 
ever brief,  of  the  situation  quickly  shows.  The  divine  commis- 
sion of  Christ,  the  Master,  had  been  authenticated  by  well 
known  and  widely  recognized  manifestations  of  supernatural 
power.  He  himself  cites  these  as  proof  of  his  divine  commission. 


144  THE   EftDUEMENT  WITH   POWER 

When  the  messengers  of  John  come  asking,  "Art  thou  he  that 
should  come,  or  do  we  look  for  another?"  Christ  replies: — 

"Go 

and  show  John  again  those  things  which  ye  do  hear  and  seer 
the  blind  receive  their  sight,  and  the  lame  walk,  the  lepers  are 
cleansed,  and  the  deaf  hear,  the  dead  are  raised  up,  and  the 
poor  have  the  gospel  preached  to  them."  Matth.  XI.-4,  5. 

Peter  appeals  to  the  same  proofs  of  the  divine  commission 
of  Christ,  when  he  says  upon  the  day  of  Pentecost:— 

"Ye  men 

of  Israel,  hear  these  words:  Jesus  of  Nazareth,  a  man  approved 
(d-TroSeSeiy/AeVov — aTroSeiKvvfu —  to  set  forth,  to  attest,  to  prove 
to)  of  God  among  you  by  miracles  and  wonders  and  signs,  which 
God  did  by  him  in  the  midst  of  you,  as  ye  yourselves  also 
know."  Acts  II.-22. 

But  now  the  Master,  thus  attested  to  the  world  by  these 
exhibitions  of  a  supernatural  power,  is  to  leave  them,  and  they 
are  to  go  out  as  his  representatives  to  continue  the  work  which 
he  has  begun. 

But  how  shall  the  world  be  convinced  of  the  genuineness  of 
their  commission?  It  may  refuse,  probably  will  refuse,  to  accept 
their  word  without  proof.  How  shall  the  world  know?  When 
a  king  in  those  days  would  accredit  a  messenger  upon  a  mission 
of  especial  importance,  he  gave  to  him  his  signet  ring,  the  ring 
with  which  he  officially  stamped,  and  thus  authenticated,  his 
proclamations. 

What  signet  ring  shall  this  uncrowned  king  of  man,  he  who 
has  neither  gold  nor  precious  stones,  give  to  his  messengers, 
that  they  may  be  accredited  of  men? 

Christ,  the  king,  gave  to  them  his  own  signet,  that  which 
had  been  recognized  among  men  as  the  proof  of  his  own  divine 
commission:— 

Ye  are  to  go  out  as  my  messengers,  "but  tarry 
ye  in  Jerusalem  until  ye  be  endued  with  power  from  on  high." 
Luke  XXIV.-49. 

Does  the  history  of  the  events  which  followed  the  enduc- 
ment  with  power  confirm  this  view  of  its  purpose  as  an  accred- 
iting credential  upon  the  part  of  the  apostles  from  Christ  to  the 
world?— a  sign  of  the  passing  on  to  them  of  the  divine  commis- 
sion? 

The  Scriptures  give  the  best  answer  to  the  question: — "And 


THE   ENDUEMENT  WITH   POWER  145 

when  they  had  set  them  in  the  midst  they  asked,  By  what 
power,  or  by  what  name,  have  ye  done  this?  Then  Peter,  filled 
with  the  Holy  Ghost,  said  unto  them,  Ye  rulers  of  the  people, 
and  elders  of  Israel,  if  we  this  day  be  examined  of  the  good 
deed  done  to  this  impotent  man,  by  what  means  he  is  made 
whole,  be  it  known  unto  you  all,  and  to  all  the  people  of 
Israel,  that  by  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ  of  Nazareth,  whom  ye 
crucified,  whom  God  raised  from  the  dead,  even  by  him  doth 
this  man  stand  here  before  you  whole." 

"Neither  is  there  sal- 
vation in  any  other,  for  there  is  none  other  name  under  heaven 
given  among  men  whereby  we  must  be  saved."  Acts  IY.-7,  10, 
and  12. 

"And  by  the  hands  of  the  apostles  were  many  signs  and 
wonders  wrought  among  the  people."  Acts  V.-12. 

"Then  Philip  went  down  to  the  city  of  Samaria,  and 
preached  Christ  unto  them.  And  the  people  with  one  accord 
gave  heed  unto  those  things  which  Philip  spake,  hearing  and 
seeing  the  miracles  which  he  did."  Acts  VIIL-5,  7. 

\ 

Was  the  enduement  with  power  intended  to  continue  as  a 
gift  in  the  church  through  after  ages?  or  was  it  intended  to  be 
limited  to  those  who  first  went  out  as  Christ's  messengers? 

Again  the  Scriptures  do  not  say.  And  again  we  can  only 
judge  by  the  after  history  of  the  church. 

And  now  there  comes  in  as  legitimate  testimony,  not  simply 
the  record  of  the  early  church  as  given  in  Acts,  and  the  allu- 
sions in  the  Epistles,  but  also  the  record  of  the  church  of  God 
as  found  in  contemporaneous  history  down  through  the  centu- 
ries. Before  pursuing  this  investigation,  however,  a  more  care- 
ful analysis  of  the  scope  of  the  phrase  "enduement  with  power" 
should  be  made. 

Awa/us — "power  to  do."  Power  to  do  what?  The  texts 
given  in  the  preceding  section,  and  others,  of  which  these  are 
only  selections,  show  that  power  to  work  miracles,  the  power 
to  temporarily  suspend  or  reverse,  for  a  specific  end,  the  normal 
working  of  some  one  of  the  laws  of  the  natural  world,  was  one 
of  the  phases  of  power  intended. 

That  this  power  was  made  use  of  frequently  during  the  ear- 
lier days  of  the  apostolic  mission,  the  record  clearly  shows. 


146  THE  ENDUEMENT  WITH   POWER 

But  the  record  also  as  clearly  shows  that  even  while  the  years  of 
the  apostolic  ministry  still  continued  the  exercise  of  this  power 
became  less  frequent  as  time  passed  by,  in  this  respect  resemb- 
ling the  latter  years  of  Christ's  ministry:  for  while  his 
earlier  years  were  marked  by  frequent  miracles,  these  became 
less  frequent  in  the  latter  years  when  his  authority  came 
to  be  more  generally  recognized.  If,  as  the  texts  already 
quoted  would  indicate,  the  working  of  miracles  was  intended 
simply  as  a  sign  or  seal  to  the  disciples  and  to  the  world,  of 
the  passing  on  of  the  divine  authority  of  Christ  to  his  mes- 
sengers, a  credential  of  the  genuineness  of  their  claim  to  be  his 
spokesmen,  it  is  evident  that  when  once  the  world  had  received 
proper  evidence  upon  this  point  the  necessity  for  the  proof  would 
cease,  and  the  exercise  of  the  power  would  no  longer  be  called 
for,  neither  is  it  probable  that  God  would  continue  this  grant 
to  men  of  a  power  so  extraordinary  as  to,  at  will,  suspend  or 
reverse  the  normal  working  of  natural  laws,  when  once  the 
special  purpose  for  which  the  grant  had  been^made  was  accom- 
plished, and  the  need  no  longer  existed.  The  rule  in  the  work- 
ing of  the  universe  is  law;  the  miracle,  evidently  the  exception. 

That  this  cessation  of  the  exercise  of  the  miracle  working 
power  could  have  been  due  to  any  failure  of  spirituality,  or  any 
degeneracy  of  the  early  church,  is  not  probable,  for  the  cessa- 
tion, as  shown  by  the  record,  began  while  the  first  disciples, 
those  who  had  been  specially  chosen  and  trained,  and  commis- 
sioned by  Christ  himself,  were  yet  living,  and  actively  in  charge 
of  the  work. 

But  side  by  side  with  the  exercise  of  the  power  to  thus  work 
miracles  we  find  evident  and  repeated  allusions  to  another 
power — the  power  to  so  present  the  word  that  hearers  shall  be 
convinced,  and  sinners  turned  from  their  ways.  Without  this 
power  the  message  would  fall  dead  upon  human  ears.  This 
power  is  to  be  distinguished  from  the  work  of  the  Holy  Spirit 
in  convincing  the  world  of  sin,  and  thus  preparing  the  way  — 
for  the  message  was  to  be  giyen  through  human  agency. 

And  this  power,  unlike  the  miracle  working  power,  would, 
in  order  to  make  the  word  effective,  have  to  be  continued  so 
long  as  the  message  has  to  be  delivered  to  a  world  still  in  sin: 
would  have  to  be  continued  on  through  the  ages.  What  do 
the  Biblical  record,  and  the  after  history  of  God's  church,  show 
upon  this  point? 


THE   ENDUEMENT  WITH   POWER  14-7 

Of  Christ   himself  the  officers  had  said:— 

"Never  man  spake  like  this  man."    John   VII. -46. 

Of  the  apostles  it  is  said: — 

"And  with  great  power  (Svra/m) 

gave  the  apostles  witness  of  the  resurrection  of  the  Lord  Jesus." 
Acts  IV.-33. 

Paul  says  of  his  own  message:— 

"And  my  speech  and  my 

preaching  was  not  with  enticing  words  of  man's  wisdom,  but 
in  demonstration  of  the  Spirit  and  of  power."  (<Wa//,etos) 
I.  Corinth.  II.-4. 

Again  he  says: —  "For  our  gospel  came  not  unto  you  in 
word  only:  but  also  in  power,  (Swa^tet)  and  in  the  Holy 
Ghost."  I.  Thessalon.  I.-5. 

What  were  the  results  of  this  power? 

When  Peter  preaches 

for  the  first  time  after  the  enduement  with  power,  the  .record 
says  of  the  multitude: — 

"Now  when  they  heard  this  they  were 

pricked  in  their  heart,  and,  and  said  unto  Peter,  and  to  the  rest 
of  the  the  apostles,  Men  and  brethren,  What  shall  we  do?" 
Acts  II.— 37. 

And  the  record  goes  on  to  say: — 

"And  the  same  day  there 
were  added  unto  them  about  three  thousand  souls."   Acts  II .-41. 

It  was  this  enduement  with  power,  power  in  the  spoken  word, 
which  gave  to  the  infant  church  its  rapid  spread,  and  sent  the 
apostles  out  as  a  flaming  fire  to  the  great  heathen  world  about 
the  east  shores  of  the  Mediterranean.  The  after  history  of  the 
church,  while  it  does  not  clearly  show  the  exercise  of  the  endue- 
ment with  power  to  the  working  of  miracles,  does  show  in  its 
early  and  rapid  spread,  and  in  the  great  reformations  and 
revivals  of  the  16th  and  the  18th  centuries,  and  in  the  power 
of  turning  men  to  God,  which  has  characterized  not  only  the 
world-famed  evangelists,  but  also  the  patient,  little  known 
workers  in  all  lands,  that  there  is  an  enduement  with  power  in 
the  spoken  word  which  abides  with  God's  messengers  in  all 
lands,  and  times,  and  among  all  peoples. 


But  why  was    the  enduement  with  power  conditioned  upon 


148  THE   ENDUEMENT  WITH   POWER 

the  antecedent  baptism  with  the  Holy  Ghost? 

The    words  of 

Christ  were,  "But  ye  shall  receive  power  after  that  the  Holy 
Ghost  is  come  upon  you:  and  ye  shall  be  witnesses  unto  me 
both  in  Jerusalem,  and  in  all  Judea,  and  in  Samaria,  and  unto 
the  uttermost  part  of  the  earth."  Acts  I.-8. 

Again  the  Scrip- 
tures give  no  direct  explanation.  We  are  left  to  infer  from  the 
context,  and  from  the  circumstances  of  the  case.  Yet  a  satis- 
factory answer  to  the  question  is  plain.  In  the  closing  section 
of  chapter  I.  of  this  essay  the  change  which  came  to  the  disci- 
ples through  the  baptism  with  the  Holy  Ghost  is  shown  —  a 
change  from  fear  to  courage,  from  despair  to  hope,  from  timid- 
ity to  boldness,  Without  this  antecedent  gain  of  courage,  of 
hope,  of  boldness,  of  what  avail  would  the  gift  of  power  have 
been?  Power  without  fitness  or  capacity  to  use  it,  would  be  fruit- 
less. Hence  the  antecedent  baptism  with  the  Holy  Ghost,  with 
all  that  it  implied.  Now  when  power  is  given,  it  is  not  given 
into  the  hands  of  men  afraid  or  unable  to  make  use  of  it,  but 
to  men  prepared  to  go  out  and  wield  it  for  the  cause  of  Christ, 
the  Master. 

Is  power  given  equally  to  all  ? 

Paul  answers  the  question  in 

the  XII.  chapter  of  I.  Corinthians,  and  again  in  Ephesians  IV. 
—11,  when  he  writes: —  "And  he  gave  some  to  be  apostles,  and 
some  prophets,  and  some  evangelists,  and  some  pastors  and 
teachers." — to  each  according  to  his  capacity  and  fitness:  and 
to  all  according  to  the  needs  of  the  work. 

And  Lydia  of  Thyatira,  and  Eunice,  at  whose  knee  the 
youthful  Timothy  is  reared  in  the  mother's  faith,  and  Dorcas, 
Dorcas  with  the  gift  of  seamstress,  and  her  bundle  of  garments 
for  the  poor  — are  not  these  also  "endued  with  power  from  on, 
high"  for  the  work  of  the  Master  ?  and  is  not  their  work  also 
of  infinite  worth? 

The  tears  of  the  widows  came  up  before  the  throne;  and 
God,  the  God  of  the  Paul  who  goes  to  the  executioner's  block 
unrescued,  the  God  of  the  ages,  harkens  to  the  pitiful  cry,  and 
turns  back  the  law  of  death:  and  the  stilled  hand  of  Dorcas 
feels  again  the  thrill  of  life,  and  goes  back  to  its  work  among 
the  poor. 

Oh,  "Like  as  a  father  pitieth  his  children  !" 


RECAPITULATION 

1— Man  not  the  one  central  figure  of  sentient  creation ;  but 
only  one  of  the  factors  in  a  broader  creation  which  reaches  out 
beyond  the  bounds  of  his  little  world. 

2— God  breathed  into  his  nostrils  the  breath  of  life  and  man 
became  a  living  soul.  It  was  a  birth  into  spiritual  life  in  God 
—the  first  birth. 

3 — Man  is  created  as  a  child  spiritually,  in  accordance  with 
a  general  plan  of  development  by  the  law  of  growth  as  a  fun- 
damental law  of  being. 

4 — To  the  end  of  this  growth,  he,  in  accordance  with  a  gen- 
eral law,  is  placed  under  conditions  of  testing  and  struggle,  and 
as  an  essential  condition  to  a  true  testing,  is  created  with  free- 
dom of  will.  This  is  man's  first  probation. 

5  —  In  order  that  he  may  clearly  understand  the  nature  of 
this  testing,  a  law  of  spiritual  life  is  laid  down  to  him,  and 
also  its  converse,  the  law  of  spiritual  death. 

Life — spiritual  communion  with  God:  its  condition,  obedience 
to  his  laws. 

Death— spiritual  alienation  from  God:  its  cause,  disobedience 
to  his  laws. 

Sin — the  breaking  of  this  law  of  life. 

The  struggle  of  free  will  between  these  two  is  the  essence  of 
the  warring  between  good  and  evil. 

6— Man  makes  use  of  this  freedom  of  will  to  disobey  the  law 
of  life  in  God,  endures  the  penalty,  is  banished  by  his  own  act 
from  spiritual  presence  with  God,  and  thus  dies  to  God.  This  is 
the  first  death. 


150  RECAPITULATION 

7 — This  testing,  and  the  falling  into  sin  upon  the  part  of 
man,  not  an  anomaly,  not  a  mischance,  not  a  failure  in  God's 
plans,  but  only  a  part  of  the  .working  out  of  a  broad,  far-reach- 
ing, probably  a  universal,  plan  of  testing  to  all  sentient  crea- 
tion throughout  the  universe,  and  of  which  we  have  hintings  in 
the  Scripture  record,  and  where-through  man  assuredly,  angels 
presumably,  may  have  held  out  to  them  the  possibility  of  ulti- 
mately attaining  to  a  plane  of  spiritual  being  far  in  advance  of 
that  possible  without  the  testing,  and  which  could  only  be 
attained  through,  and  because  of,  the  battling  and  testing. 

8 — God  does  not  abandon  the  man  whom  he  has  created 
and  thus  placed  under  testing,  for  the  possibility  of  this  diso- 
bedience was  necessarily  foreseen  as  within  the  scope  of  the 
plan,  and  it  came  while  man  was  as  yet  practically  ignorant  of 
the  full  consequences  of  his  act,  having  had  no  actual  experience 
of  what  the  penalty  fully  involved. 

9 — Man  thus  spiritually  dead  to  God  in  transgression,  has 
no  power  to  pardon  his  own  sin,  or  to  again  enter^into  life  in 
God. 

10— God's  plan,  however,  involves  a  way  for  the  pardon  of 
man's  transgression  of  the  law  of  spiritual  being,  and  his  restor- 
ation to  life  in  God.  Yet  this  possibility  of  restoration  is  still 
dependent  upon  man's  freedom  of  will,  for  man  who  willed  to 
disobey,  may  refuse,  if  he  will,  to  avail  himself  of  the  possibili- 
ties opened  up  to  him  by  God's  plan  of  restoration,  and  may 
elect  to  remain  in  his  sin,  and  dead  to  God. 

But  to  the  end  that  he  may  not  so  elect,  God's  Spirit,  which 
at  the  first  was  breathed  into  man  when  he  became  a  living 
soul,  and  whi.h  now  no  longer  dwells  within  the  man  spiritu- 
ally dead  to  God,  as  a  life-giving  principle,  is  yet  ever  about 
him,  striving  with  him,  warning  him,  pleading  with  him,  and 
entreating  him,  now  that  he  has  seen  the  consequences  of  his 
disobedience,  to  turn  back  from  his  ways;  and  to  the  end  that 
he  may  have  inducement  to  heed,  God  holds  out  to  him  a  prom- 
ise of  pardon  and  restoration  to  life. 

11  —  To  the  end  of  pardon  Christ  dies  upon  Calvary  for 
man's  transgression.  In  what  way  God  makes  this  sacrifice  a 


RECAPITULATION  151 

sufficient  and  satisfying  atonement  for  man's  transgression,  the 
Scriptures  do  not  explain.  The  fact  is  stated— the  explanation 
of  the  manner  is  withheld.  This  is  God's  secret. 

12 — To  the  man  who  by  his  own  will  turns  in  repentance 
and  submission  to  God,  the  merit  of  this  sacrifice  is  applied, 
and  he  stands  cleared  from  his  transgression  before  his  Maker. 

13— The  man,  thus  cleansed  of  his  sin,  is  accepted  of  God, 
and  through  a  second  entering  in  of  the  Spirit  is  "born  again" 
into  life  in  God. 

14 — This  man,  grown  wise  in  sin,  is  yet  a  babe  in  spirit- 
ual things,  this  side  of  his  being  having  remained  dwarfed 
through  non-use;  and  it  is  as  an  infant  in  the  knowledge  and 
discernment  of  spiritual  truth  that  he  is  born  again. 

15— For  this  spiritual  babe  in  Christ,  a  teacher  and  guide 
is  provided,  in  the  person  of  the  "indwelling  Spirit,"  who  is  to 
teach  him,  and  guide  him  into  all  truth. 

16 — The  conflict  of  testing  is  now  again  upon  this  child  in 
spiritual  truth,  but  this  time  it  comes  to  one  who  has  learned 
by  actual  and  sore  test  the  power  and  the  penalty  of  evil.  This 
is  man's  second  probation. 

17— Through  this  testing,  and  because  of  it,  the  "babe  in 
Christ"  is  to  come  "unto  a  perfect  man,  unto  the  measure  of  the 
stature  of  the  fulness  of  Christ,"  one  who  will  not  sin  because 
of  his  own  free  and  enlightened  will  he  now  wills  not  to  sin. 
He  is  become  "Holy  unto  the  Lord,  a  sanctified  soul." 

Yet  man  may  again,  if  he  will,  turn  away  from  God,  and 
again  and  finally  choose  evil  rather  than  good,  and  thus  again 
die  to  God:  but  this  time  it  will  be  with  an  understanding 
enlightened  by  actual  personal  experience  as  to  the  full  conse- 
quences of  his  act.  This  is  the  second  spiritual  death.  It  is  of 
this  final  deliberate  free  will  rejection  of  God's  law  of  spiritual 
life  that  it  is  said: — 

"For  it  is  impossible  for  those  who  were 
once  enlightened,  and  have  tasted  of  the  heavenly  gift,  and  were 


152  RECAPITULATION 

made  partakers  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  have  tasted  the  good 
word  of  God,  and  the  powers  of  the  world  to  come:  if  they 
shall  fall  away  (Tra/oaTreo-di/Tas-TrapaTrtTTTto —  to  fall  away,  not 
simply  in  the  sense  of  falling,  but  a  falling  away,  in  the  sense 
of  abandoning,  rejecting)  to  renew  them  again  unto  repentance: 
seeing  they  crucify  to  themselves  the  Son  of  God  afresh,  and 
put  him  to  an  open  shame."  Hebrews  VI.-4,  6. 

18— God  equips  the  reclaimed  soul  that  he  may  send~it  out 
as  a  messenger  to  bear  the  message  of  a  gospel  of  salvation 
from  sin  and  spiritual  death  to  those  who  are  yet  dead  to  God 
in  transgression.  To  this  end  he  pours  out  upon  him  a  special 
baptism  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  endues  him  with  power  to  do 
in  the  work  which  lies  before  him. 

19— And  again  it  may  be  said  —  all  this  is  not  chance,  not 
an  after  thought  upon  God's  part  to  correct  a  miscarriage  in 
the  original  scheme  of  creation,  but  a  thing  foreseen,  and 
planned,  and  provided  for  in  immeasurable  love  and  supreme 
wisdom  before  the  world  was. 


"Domine  refugium  factus  es  nobis  a  generatione  in  genera- 
tionem. 

Prinsquam  monies  fierent,  aut  formaretur  terra,  et  orbis,  a 
saeculo  et  usque  in  saeculum  tu  es  Deus.  Ne  avertas  hominem 
in  humilitatem:  et  dixisti,  Convertimini  nlii  hominum"  Psalm 
XC.—l,  2,  3. 

AMEN. 


YB   12896 


